Survival depends a great deal on our ability to understand other people: their needs, their loves, their hates, their weak nesses and their attributes. We can talk a bit about the need for understanding subordinates for the purposes of effective leadership. In the area of competitive politics, understanding is important merely to stay above water.
As a leader it is stupid, inefficient and cruel to treat people equally. As a competitor for power (or even security) it is not only stupid, cruel and inefficient, but also self-destructive. Sarcasm, for example, may delight some and terrify others; it may, however, push one ambitious man to go after your neck. Flattery works with many people, but it can create suspicion.
Learn to deal with another person by understanding his quirks, his problems and his principles.
One of the most important aspects of working in the political atmosphere is comprehending people's need for security. In the tense world that exists in most of the large corporations, and even some of the smallest companies, people's actions and reactions are often related to the degree of security they feel.
Some people's needs in this area are greater than others. The feeling of insecurity gives a certain type of individual more ambition, and unfortunately some chief executives actually play on this. They feel that it keeps their men alert and productive. It also tends to keep the chief on top because his executives are so busy knifing each other. With most people, however, the feeling of insecurity often makes them work irrationally, because their reactions are defensive.
This problem of security is mentioned here primarily, because-whether you are insecure or not-you must strive to sense the security drives of others. The extremely insecure man is the most dangerous problem you can have. He is like the wounded tiger; he may attack anyone. It is usually unwise to add to his insecurity-at least, it certainly is unwise to let him know you are adding to it.
It is not necessary to use any devious means to deal with this man; if you are forced into a struggle with him, your best bet is to rise above the situation and work twice as hard to produce. Such an approach can defeat a competitor faster and more permanently than any other method.
Some may be bothered by the seeming two-faced approach suggested in these paragraphs-that is, handling each person differently. It should not be thought of as a devious approach. Striving to deal with everyone in the way each likes is kind; it is efficient in that it gets people to work without grief; it is also good politics. It does not require a relinquishing of principles, merely the acquisition of new and varied methods.
Experts on Getting Along in a Political Atmosphere
Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wings. Only one thing endures, and that is character. Horace Greeley
The levels of management must be manned by people who understand others. This is the key to leadership. A corporation is nothing more than a group of men and women, with all the qualities that make the human being so complex. How well the executive understands human na ture, inside and outside his own company, will be the ultimate measure of his capacity for leadership. Gilbert W. Chapman
It is sometimes frightening to observe the success which comes even to the outlaw with a polished technique, and we find ourselves doubting the validity of the virtues we have been taught. But I believe we must reckon with character in the end, for it is as potent a force in world conflict as it is in our own domestic affairs. It strikes the last blow in any battle. D. Reed
No society of nations, no people within a nation, no family can benefit through mutual aid unless good will exceeds ill will; unless the spirit of cooperation surpasses antagonism; unless we all see and act as though the other man's welfare determines our own welfare. Henry Ford II
Your circumstances may be uncongenial, but they shall not long remain so if you but perceive an Ideal and strive to reach it. James Lane Allen
I sincerely believe that the word "relationships" is the key to the prospect of a decent world. It seems abundantly clear that every problem you will have-in your family, in your business, in our nation, or in this world-is essentially a matter of relationships, of interdependence. Clarence Francis
My father used to say: "Never suspect people. It's better to be deceived or mistaken, which is only human, after all, than to be suspicious, which is common." Stark Young
"Honesty is the best policy," "A dollar saved is a dollar earned," "Look before you leap," "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," "The laborer is worthy of his hire," may be scoffed at by some intellectuals as trite copybook rules, but nonetheless they sum up the elementary experience of the race in creating and consuming wealth. . . .
People may change their minds as often as their coats, and new sets of rules of conduct may be written every week, but the fact remains that human nature has not changed and does not change, that inherent human beliefs stay the same; the fundamental rules of human conduct continue to hold. Lammot du Pont
The greatest ability in business is to get along with others and influence their actions. A chip on the shoulder is too heavy a piece of baggage to carry through life. John Hancock
Goodwill is the one and only asset that competition cannot undersell nor destroy. Marshall Field
Learn to get along with people. Learn to exhibit more patience than any other man you know. Learn to respect other men's ideas and opinions. Learn to think problems through to the end. Learn to try to put yourself in the other fellow's place. Be democratic. Be loyal. Cultivate cheerfulness. Harry J. Klingler
