FOLLOWING THE CROWD

Following the crowd is by far the WORST behavior trait that can ever be displayed by Americans and yet, it is the only behavior trait that is predictable 99.7% of the time which does not make it right or acceptable only understandable..

“Spineless,” “Without Balls,” “Yellow Belly,” “Coward.” might be a few words that pop to the top of my mind, when I think of those who spend their lives following the crowd... and, they completely remind me of a herd of Buffalo who would run right off the edge of a cliff and plunge to their deaths in order to follow their leader.

Not being a mathematician, I know that whenever one is dealing with large number and if the data from those numbers are collected in sub groups of 5 or more, then one can ASSUME that over time a normal distribution (bell shaped curve) will appear... and, with its appearance, one can make pretty accurate predictions, such as:

68.0% of Americans will follow the crowd

27.0% of Americans may or may not follow the crowd

4.07% of Americans probably will not follow the crowd

0.03% of Americans will never follow the crowd

But, as long as I know that 68% of you guys and gals will follow the crowd, I can begin to design programs where I can then alter the behavior of the crowd to be more in line with how I want them to be.

Businesses know this

Marketing Executives know this

Political Parties know this

Military know this

But, 68% of Americans do not know this and have not even got a clue that something like this even exists or more importantly that it is being used to manipulate their behavior.

Now, before we go too much farther, let me say that following the crowd is not all about good behavior. For example, on the highway or interstates around this country, following the crowd means driving one's vehicle 15-20 miles over the speed limits because that is exactly how fast the crowd is traveling... plus, if you vehicle is in a pack of other cars and as long as it is not the last one, the odds are in your favor that they police will never give you a ticket unless the stop the entire pack of cars; however, if you are the last car, the reverse is true and almost always will you get the speeding ticket.

Another example of following the crowd, is withholding information when it comes time to file your income taxes each year. In the past, the IRS allowed up to $25/day of undocumented business receipts in order to claim business deductions, making it very easy for the crowd to do this and following the crowd to again take place.

Employee theft is almost always something that the crowd does all the time, taking paper and pens home with them, or using the Xerox machine or FAX machine for personal business, or taking a little extra time each day on both the morning and afternoon breaks, sometimes arriving late or leaving early, especially if there are no time clocks. Following the crowd happens all the time here as well.

But, the following the crowd behavior that really bothers me is when you boss asks you to do something that is unethical and you do it so that you can keep your job.

Or, you see another employees of a higher rank than you doing something inappropriate, and you say nothing so that you can keep your job.

Or, the quality of materials are reduced to save money and you know that you are producing a part that is not good or fit for use but you do so anyway because you want to keep your job.

Or, you know that someone was fired without just cause and you say nothing to keep your job.

Or, you know that a female has claimed sexual harassment and the male was fired, when all along it was her who was sexually harassing him and you say nothing to keep your job.

Are you one of the 68%? And, more important, if you are, do you care that you are?

People who follow the crowd take no risks and spend their entire lives taking no risks but if questioned about what they would do differently about their lives, if given that chance, they almost always answer, take more risks. What sublime irony... and, who says God does not have a sense of humor... it may be dry humor but it is humor nonetheless.

I personally am in the 5% where the odds are in their favor where they will not follow the crowd and while I have refused to follow the crowd during my 45 year career, I have also been fired 10 times as I have previous mentioned in other posts and I say this not to brag about it, but to say, I decide what I will or will not do. But, unless you are the very top man in an organization that attitude is pure poison and can never be tolerated... and, I knew that from the getgo but did what I did anyway.

Reflecting upon that behavior a tad, I think I could have or might have avoided half those terminations if I had been a “tad” more diplomatic in my approach than I was as no one that I know actually likes the blunt force trauma of being verbally slapped in the face in front of peers, nor do they like being given the song, “Take This Job and Shove It.” But, I must admit, at the time, I thought it was a great idea.

While I do not personally like those who follow the crowd, it is those who follow the crowd that are the ones who end up with not just Social Security Benefits when they retire but pensions from those companies they stayed at 30-40 years whereas people like me don't get shit from those companies. So, one can make a strong case for job security but one can also make a strong case for integrity as well.

But where following the crowd is the most insidious is in the ranks of the General Public who DO NOTHING about what their Government Leaders are doing, know that they are doing that which the general public does not want them to do; and yet, the general public says nothing and the general public does nothing... other than complain to each other when in check out lines at The WalMart.

America has become a country of DO NOTHING COMPLAINERS... So, who do you think is going to change the way things are? I would guess that those that are not in the 68%, leaving 32% are going to be the ones who try to change the status quo. And, for the most part those are always the ones who take chances and want change.

One day, you will wake up, and be told that America is no longer America and WONDER how that happened on your watch... it is really, really simply... all you have to do is follow the crowd.

Resolutions

A New Year's resolution is a promise that you make to yourself to start doing something good or stop doing something bad on the first day of the year.

The ancient Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts. The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named.

In the Medieval era, the knights took the "peacock vow" at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry.

At watchnight services, many Christians prepare for the year ahead by praying and making these resolutions.

During Judaism's New Year, Rosh Hashanah, through the High Holidays and culminating in Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).

Resolution Suggestions:

1. Develop goals and plans to get there.
2. Reduce stress.
3. Be more organized.
4. Look for more meaningful work.
5. Improve your work-life balance.
6. Network more effectively.
7. Improve your relationship with the boss/co-workers.
8. Develop your communication skills.
9. Get a degree.
10. Be better with e-mail and voicemail.
11. Have a better attitude.

Resolutions most often broken:

• Lose Weight and Get Fit
• Quit Smoking
• Learn Something New
• Eat Healthier and Diet
• Get Out of Debt and Save Money
• Spend More Time with Family
• Travel to New Places
• Be Less Stressed
• Volunteer
• Drink Less

People allege that most New Year Resolutions do not last more than a day. At the most, they extend to a few weeks. For the resolute hearts, they stay on for a couple of months.

But they are never adhered to for long. Most resolutions are lighthearted and fun.  New Year Resolution is the best chance to incorporate the changes you have been pining for in your life.

Research shows that people who believe that self-control is something dynamic, changing and unlimited, tend to set more resolutions.

Individuals with high self-efficacy attribute failure to insufficient effort, while individuals with low self-efficacy attribute failure to deficient ability. Higher self-efficacy generally is correlated with a greater likelihood of achieving one’s goals.

Research also showed that if you are made to believe that self-control is a fixed or limited resource that you can’t change, you will also set fewer goals and will give up on them sooner, regardless of your level of self-efficacy.

Miller & Marlatt (1998) also suggest the following:

To be successful with your 

own resolutions:

• Have a strong initial commitment to make a change.
• Have coping strategies to deal with problems that will come up.
• Keep track of your progress.
• The more monitoring you do and feedback you get, the better you will do.

Ingredients for setting yourself up 

for resolution failure include:

• Not thinking about making resolutions until the last minute.
• Reacting on New Year’s Eve and making your resolutions based on what’s bothering you or is on your mind at that time.
• Framing your resolutions as absolutes by saying, “I will never do X again.”