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I avoid Costco until my wife asks me during a moment of weakness. On my most recent trip, I delayed entering the store by buying envelopes at the Staples across the parking lot. When it could be avoided no longer, I went to the entrance, where I encountered the crack security force checking for Costco membership cards.
I explained that my wife had the card and she was already in the store. This was not his concern. He was pointing at the box of envelopes I was carrying. “You can’t bring those in here,” he informed me. “Why?’ I asked.
No explanation was offered. Perhaps he did not know the reason. He was just there to enforce a list of rules, and this made him my enemy. I was not going to stand outside in the cold waiting for my wife, so I selected another route and entered the store with my contraband envelopes. It’s Costco, not Mission Impossible.
Rules and procedures may be dumb, but they spare you from thinking. – Scott Simon, NPR
Few things raise my ire as quickly as someone saying “No”, who has no response to the question, “Why?” Everyone gets the chance to be in a position of authority sometimes over siblings, children, coworkers, subordinates, customers, or employees. When you are in that position, don’t be an authoritarian. Understand your purpose and don’t let blind enforcement take its place. Have something better to offer than, “Because I said so.”
You can get people to volunteer to do something or you can force them. Cooperation is the only solution that is always completely effective. Forcing your opinions may seem easier, but it requires absolute authority, and that is difficult to wield. Tyrant is a tough job title, because every dictatorship breeds rebellion.
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Word, brother. I HATE when someone has rules for the sake of rules. I worked for someone once who had an entire list of rules that served no purpose. I broke them whenever possible because I’m a hopeless rebel and a badass.