Public and Nonprofit Management by the Book: Getting to Yes

 A citizen received a call from the town council chair.  After that call, he came to the town council meeting and demanded that the council chair stop bullying and intimidating him. Ever wondered how to handle such a situation.  You can get to yes.  Here's how

 



Reference:  Fisher, Roger and William Ury.  Getting to Yes. New York: Penguin Books. Any edition

A citizen received a call from the town council chair.  After that call, he came to the town council meeting and demanded that the council chair stop bullying and intimidating him. The chair had probably spoken to him about a major economic development report that the council had approved.  The chair response was that his call wasn’t intimidating. Then he “double downed” and told the citizen should to file an ethics complaint.  Can these two ever agree? 

You sigh and say there is not much that can be done.  Well Fisher and Ury who wrote Getting to Yes give us some ideas. 

It’s clear that personalities are interfering with a solution.  And we really need to know what the problem is rather than guessing.  Find out what might be helpful to both.  In small towns they will meet each other again. 

What are possible options. We need to have someone intervene that’s for a sure, in formal parlance, a facilitator, but in this situation, it could simply be another citizen.  it may be that the citizen simply needs an apology. Politicians aren’t very good at that. The political apology I’m sorry if you feel that way.  That may be enough.

 

Or it may be that the citizen needs to be heard.  He may not understand that the report is just that only a report. There will be plenty of public meetings before the citizens vote on any expenditure.  Once we narrow down possible solutions, do the two agree that the solution. is fair or beneficial or in the interests of the community. 

 

Let me give you another example, resolving a conflict in your staff meeting.  I’ve been in two staff meeting where the solution was asking, what do you need?   In a staff I worked with we often had disagreements about what kind of information to convey to the next level.  The minutes of the meeting weren’t enough.  I was chairing that day and asked what do you need to one peeved staff?  He wanted to write a memo.  Once stated I was fortunate enough to be able to say you got it.  Thanks for listening, I hope you can get to Yes.  I’m Carolyn Ball

Vacuuming and other theories of motivation

I have a vacuum that has a red light on it that turns green when the area I’m vacuuming is clean. The vacuum doesn’t seem to have a light on it that tells me when I should vacuum.  I suppose that is the responsibility of the crumbs, dirt and dust to tell me.  I’ll vacuum a spot forward and backward, side to side until the light turns green.  Now if the cord should come unplugged from the outlet, that’s it for me.  I’m not motivated to do any more vacuuming, unless, unless…I have guests coming.  Then that red light is calling me to finish.

I have a friend, Akee Parwaz, who manages a large used carand service company in Canton, Mass.  He pays his sales people a salary rather than on commission. Now commission or incentive pay is the classic way to motivate.  Every car you sell, you make more money.  His staff must not be motivated.  Instead they are motivated knowing that they have a secure future and they can help each other out to sell more cars without hurting their pay.  He is a strong supporter of Rotary. He schools them i

n the four way test:  Is it the truth, is it fair to all concerned, will it build goodwill and better friendships, will it be beneficial to all concerned.  You can be motivated understanding that the goal is selling cars, but selling cars that will make you feel good at the end of the day.

I have a friend, Bruce Marquis, who runs beauty salons in Mass.  Long before Massachusetts had mandatory health insurance and even longer before Obamacare, he provided his employees with a health insurance option.  He has an employee who has been with him for 26 years.  Turnover tends to be routine in hair salons and few provide benefits.  Providing benefits that employees need can be a powerful motivation tool and as a Rotarian, he knows that it will build goodwill.

What motivates you? Do you need incentive pay to do your work? Most of us don’t have that but we keep working.

If you are interested in assistance in devising sound human resource policies, please contact me at 207-956-0244 or Ball@maine.edu