Issue 211 – Feb 2022: It’s All About Sex!
Well, sex is only one-third of the key human behaviour picture. Human behaviour is also about
survival, and it is about having our own control. These three factors dominate the human life picture,
and, hence, the business picture. But by far the most important one at your enterprise is the control
factor of each individual. If you understand and respond to the importance of individuals’ control, then
you will be on the path for significantly improving corporate performance.
Survival
Abraham Maslow set the stage in 1943 with his human motivational model formed in a triangle with
Transcendency at the top followed by Self-Actualization, etc.
The CCCC motivational model sets a human (and animal) priority with Survival at the top. No matter
what else we are doing, if our survival is threatened, we stop all other actions and direct our full and
sole attention to surviving – usually by running or fighting. (This explains our strong emotions when
threatened even with the slightest intimidation.)
Sex
If sexual attraction enters the scene, we direct our attention to it (except, of course, unless our survival
is threatened). Why? Because Mother Nature wants babies – lots of babies; they are the portal for
continuation of our species. This is our second priority. It is for plants, too; the maple tree, for example,
sheds thousands of pretty helicopter seeds to ensure the continuation of at least a few new trees. Our
social codes have attempted to minimize the effect of sex on our daily lives, but despite our societal
efforts, sex remains a dominant force.
When we first meet a person to whom we are attracted, we do not ask the individual to engage in sex –
but we may think it, or at least start the sexual process by admiring certain features of the person,
including intelligence or like-mindedness. We often scan the attractive individual more closely, or, if all is
socially okay, gently touch the other person. Usually, we hold the sexual urge in control by engaging only
vocally or visually but we may suggest a further step (unknowingly for babies) via a rendezvous over
coffee. Much of society engages in sexual pursuits visually: skin magazines, bar shows, and pornography.
(These are a larger business than theatre, opera, musicals, ABC, CBS, and NBC combined.) We have been
built to be obviously attractive to the other sex. We are not alone: the bullfrog with the loudest croak
gets the lady, the ostrich with the most engaging dance gets the mate, the mandrill with the brightest
red snout covering gets the attention from more members of the opposite sex. As far as humans are
concerned, Mother Nature has stressed the sexual priority (baby-making) by equipping us with many
features aimed this way. The most obvious is that our highest sensation of all, and, hence, our biggest
natural reward, occurs at the moment of finalizing the baby-making act.
Control
Once our current survival concerns are addressed and sex is not dominating our mind, the third life
priority is for each of us to have control over our own situations.
When control is taken away from us, we unhappily seek to get it back. Even babies seek control over
their situations; an immediate loud cry results when the baby senses a loss of control. Is business any
different than seeking more and more control by most of its participants? I will leave you with that
philosophical question and return to the practical everyday scene. When you enter a shop to buy a blouse or shirt, the offer of assistance by the sales clerk is usually rebuffed by you. Why? Because you
want control over the situation. You don’t want someone else attempting to influence your decision.
In the office, you would like to have control over the envelope presented to you, that is, your specific
job and its responsibilities. If you are micromanaged (that is, some part of the job is taken away from
you), you don’t like this loss of control. If you are not consulted about changes to your job role, you
resent it – especially if you feel such changes are not useful. The point is, you like to have control over
those things you believe should lie within your own domain. AND SO DOES EVERYONE ELSE!
Success Formula
Herein lies one of the most important secrets of business success. You, as a supervisor, must allow your
reporting staff to have control over their work situations. The more they sense a lack of control, the
unhappier they will be. The less happy they are, the poorer their contribution, or we like to say: the
poorer their co-operation. Co-operation allows us to achieve more: wolves in packs or whales in pods
get more food via co-operation; the ten-story building gets completed by 200 people co-operating
rather than one doing it alone. The galley with twenty slave rowers co-operating with their oars will
outmaneuver their enemy. It is obvious that the formula is: The more co-operation, the better the
performance.
The question you may ask is: How do I give control to my employees without losing
control myself?
Some Ways to Pass Control onto Your Staff (without losing control yourself)
Avoid making any threats
Set up a practical suggestion box system
Ask employees to rate your performance
As much as possible, avoid the word “you”
Ask employees to rate their own performance
Never point at the person with whom you are talking
Never interrupt them when they are speaking to you
Invite them to participate in planning their job’s future
Never laugh derogatorily at anyone’s idea or suggestion
Invite them to prioritize and resolve company problems
Invite them to participate in planning the company’s future
Set up a safe environment in meetings so that no one feels belittled
Don’t blame anyone; instead, use the word “we” before any discussion
Ask employees what tools they need to do their job, and then get them
Ask them to identify company policies that keep them from being effective
Have supervisors rate each subordinate once a week (and discuss as necessary)
Share top financial information with them so that they can see the bigger picture
Ask them to set their own work targets (and explain to you why those goals were chosen)
Ask them to rate the company’s administrative performance (that affects them as an employee)
Conclusion
Do you want an increase in productivity? Then you need to increase co-operation. And that is done by
giving employees a better sense of control. The ideas above, one new one installed each month, will
introduce you to a very happy and productive workforce. Time and again, I have seen these acts of
openness create profits that clients never imagined possible.
Bill