hi all, just fyi the folks at the nat'l assoc of CPA's have somehow seen fit to publish another article of mine, this one kind of a quick highlights/ greatest hits/ executive summary of my princples of applied stupidity, or at least 6 of the most pertinent ones of 33.
best, JL
(Or, you can read text below! – jl
Before becoming an author and speaker, I spent many years playing the double bass with the Boston Pops. A few years ago I decided to create a book and presentation to describe the management techniques of the best conductors for whom I’d played.
Unfortunately, I ran into a bit of a snag. This exclusive handful of top conductors employed truly unorthodox techniques, ones that ran completely counter to the accepted norms. They used approaches one would normally associate, not with being “smart,” but, well, quite frankly, with what one might call “subpar students.”
So, how to explain their approach? Since they had gone so far away from the conventional wisdom and usual definitions of “intelligent,” I decided to refer to these techniques as “Principles of Applied Stupidity.”
For your amusement, here is a condensed look at six items normally thought of as “not smart” that many highly effective managers use and I hope you will find something useful in them as well:
Principle #1: Let Other People Solve the Problem
We tend to think of problem-solving ability as a major element of “being smart,” but the most effective managers don’t display this kind of intelligence. Instead, they just identify the problem and let others solve it. They know that problem-solving is engaging and fun, so instead of keeping all the problem-solving fun to themselves, they delegate problem-solving opportunities to increase general morale and motivation.
Principle #2: Demonstrate Incompetence
While most top managers are eager to show off their expertise, sometimes it can be very effective to look lost, helpless and confused. This inspires subordinates to step up to the plate with greater initiative and confidence, as they figure no matter how unqualified they are to do something, they can’t possibly do any worse than what you just did. This can be a major confidence builder.
Principle #3: Admit to Being Ignorant
One of the Principles of Applied Stupidity states: “Information Flows From Smart to Dumb.” This means that the dumber you look, the more stuff people will tell you (conversely, the smarter you try to look, the less people will tell you, as they assume you already know everything). Information is power and the dumber you look, the more information (and power) you get.
Principle #4: Never Follow Standard Procedure
While the highest grades are given to those who are the best at comprehending and following rules and procedures, the most successful leaders and creative people do the opposite. They disregard standard rules and procedures and make up their own as they go along. They are not embarrassed by their lack of obedience, consistency or conformity.
Principle #5: Be Imperfect
In school, we associate intelligence with getting a “perfect score” on tests, but in real life, perfect scores are generally unattainable. Perfection as a standard of performance is a hindrance to innovation and creativity. Many people fail to take action because they cannot bear the idea of showing the world that they are less than perfect.
And finally, …
Principle #6: Get Fs
While most of us have a deep-seated aversion to anything that sounds like failure, many highly effective people have a different approach: instead of avoiding it, they actually increase their number of failures.
Since the word “failure” has many powerful and negative emotional connotations, instead of using this repugnant “f” word, let’s euphemize it and use the more pleasant phrase “Non-Success Event,” or NSE.
Once you stop avoiding “nonsuccess events” and you experiment and try new things actively, you can freely use NSEs and the science of statistics and probability to your advantage. One obvious example is direct mail marketing, in which the typical number of “NSEs” is 98 percent. For people trained to always avoid failure — or should we say, any and all “nonsuccess events” … direct mail is not an option, since there is such a high nonsuccess rate.
Instead of avoiding nonsuccess events, CPAs are much better off accepting and ignoring them and even encouraging them as much as possible, as the more you experiment and explore the unknown, the more likely you are to stumble onto actual success.
Conclusion
The above approaches to management often lie unused because we are taught to think of them as being signs of “stupidity,” but as you now know, they can actually be quite useful and effective. You will also note that besides getting superior results, they also require less time and energy.
(c) Justin Locke ——————-
Justin Locke is a fun speaker. Call him at 781-330-8143 to have him entertain your attendees at your next event!
