If I were forced to work with a bully or a slacker as a peer/coworker, how could I make them do their share of the work? First of all, it is quite obvious I cannot just tell these people to do their job; I would have to make them. Realistically, the world doesn’t work on good intentions alone; self interest is a part of it. In order to make the bully or the slacker do his/her job, I need some form of leverage over them. This leverage can be in the form of authority, telling my boss the problem in order to rescue myself from being taken advantage of and in order to prevent a precedent for future abuse. Another form of leverage is manipulating them by playing on their character weaknesses, something left to more canny individuals. Another still is by stamping my handiwork with my indelible signature to create evidence of their omission.
Leverage is neither evil nor good. People might get the bad idea that leverage is evil, since it is power to compel someone against their will. However, it is merely a tool. Like any other tool – hammer, knife, accounting software, the Internet, money, etc. – it is the ethical consequences of the action that clears up this ambiguity.
There are three groups that provide leverage to the people:
Competition and Market Forces – Free-market forces give the people, who are consumers, leverage by choosing one supplier or service over the other. Without the power of choice, how are people able to punish inefficiency, or framed in another way, reward innovation and hard work?
Courts of Law, Law Enforcers, and Legal Experts – If someone violates a serious binding agreement, the ability to take them to court is a form of leverage. The law is a tool, a way to keep people from breaking promises others depend on for their welfare, stability and happiness. Without such leverage, there is very little to prevent abuse and the public from being taken advantage of.
Free Speech, Free and Impartial Media, and… Free Thought – Public expression is a way to communicate to others serious or vital concerns with regards to their conduct. Free speech allows people to attack and defend their credibility, and gives the truth opportunity to prevail. Part of free speech is the ability of individuals to apply the more impartial tools of logic and reason to come to their own conclusions, which we know as Freethought.
I might address that these forms of leverage may not be perfect tools, but without them we certainly diminish our power to affect change and improve our situation.
Looking at the three groups: Free trade, Law and Order, and Free speech, how much leverage does the Filipino have? Among them, what is the easiest to achieve given our own individual abilities, and that can be achieved by our collective groups? Which group precedes the others or by what degree?
Understanding leverage helps me determine what is the most cost-efficient application of effort towards change. I hope this helps you too.
In Buddha's Dhamma, leverage is an example of Skillful Means. Neither good nor evil.
What happens to some people is that when they have some leverage. They don't use it. So they let others take it away. That's why they say nice guys finish last. The Church has this way of making people believe that they are happy and contented by just being simple.
At least in my case, my mom doesn't see how much leverage she has just by having more money than her friends. She still follows her friends like a fool. I wouldn't think twice of using any leverage I might have to make people do things my way. But I'm helpless.
Every person has their own mind. Everybody therefore is only concerned with themselves. Noone will do something for another person unless it's necessary or unless they will get something from it. The ONLY way to make people do stuff is to have leverage otherwise they wouldn't bother at all.
But why would I want people to do something that they don't want to do? Only if I need it.
I am in the same position as you. My mom listens to geomancers and faithhealers. I am uncomfortable with the relationship and know if I act on it, I have to mount a campaign, win the battle, and rule the city. Meaning, If I do anything to change my parent's minds, I must be ready to continue the course of action to make them happy.
Its not that your helpless, its more that the cost of occupying and winning exceeds the overall happiness you'll get out of it. If you make your mom throw off her friends you don't like, you must be ready to substitute that lost aspect of her life with something she wants. that may mean doing more of what she wants and sacrificing what freedoms you already have.
Using leverage is always some cost. If it didn't cost anything it wouldn't be that powerful. Diplomats or Manipulators, are able to find leverage more efficiently with less cost to themselves. As you grow wiser the skill tends to progress, it just depends on how much you allocate or study to improve on it.
As the beginning example with the bullies and slackers, leverage is necessary skill in personal problem solving. Just to live in a fairer world, one has to apply leverage. Sometimes the good or what is fair is against the will of an individual and a group.
Hello Justin,
Just Curious….what do you think are the steps that google could have done to China in order to gain leverage since they were claiming that they were bullied by the Chinese gov't ? or is it the other way around…that the chinese gov't were bullied by google
Thanks and take care,
Charles
In case of what happened to China and Google, who has the leverage is very hard to determine by just the reports. I know China has their own Internet search and advertisement firms, but they lack the technology and skills of Google. Still if Google is going to sustain its pace, it has to grow and it needs markets like China.
Still, Google can bring in a TON of revenue through ads, trade-opportunities and other services. Trade barriers are self inflicting injuries, if I am to sum up my economics lessons with a lot of oversimplification. The growth China has to gain with Google may be something their economists advisors may be harping at their politicians.
Freetrade, with mindfulness of its peculiarities, is always a benefit on all parties. I would gather to say they need each other enough by the extents they have complied to each other, from what I can see on the surface.
China bending over to Google's removal of censorship is part of the risks of espionage. They got caught, in return censorship was removed. By the speed Google capitalized on it, makes you think they've already anticipated that action.