I was on the bus this morning on the way to work, sitting across the aisle from a guy who was talking to someone next to him. He was talking about the rugby team that he trains, a bunch of school kids. He was talking about his philosophy of training, getting them to be aware of the consequences of their actions, in regards to their positions and actions during a game. He was talking about how other teams that he's played against seem to be really strict in the placement of the kids, and gets the kids to stick to positions during game play. He felt that was too constricting for the development of the kids. The guy next to him asked him how many games his team won, and the guy replied that they didn't win many, but at least his kids were developing their own understanding of the consequences of their actions and placements on the rugby field.
I shook my head, thinking that the guy had absolutely no understanding of tactics. I know nothing about rugby, and I have no experience with coaching, but I DO know that if you are in the position of being responsible for a group of people, then you need to manage those people in order for them to be effective. You need a plan of action, and you need to make sure that each member of the team is in the position that they are most suited for, and you need to constantly manage them to make them understand that the position they're in is the best one for their skills and talents. It's like chess. You move the appropriate pieces around the board in an appropriate manner in order to get the goal that you want.
This guy didn't seem to grasp the concept of effective management or coaching, instead believing that the chaotic theory of 'leave it up to themselves to do the best that they want to do' is the preferred one. No wonder his kids rarely win.
And then he started talking about sport on Sky TV, and then whinging about how he was ripped off by Sky. They rang up and offered him a deal to get Sky connected. He agreed to having a rep come out and talk to him about it. The rep outlined a deal for him that he agreed to. Then the Sky people advised him, before they connected it, that the deal couldn't be done because it was outside their standard deals. He said that the rep said it could be done, and so they agreed to honour it. Then after a few months they contacted him again and said that they weren't able to continue the deal, and that he would need to pay an amount in backpay to cover the difference for the previous few months between what they thought it was worth and what he was paying, AND he would need to then spend an extra $30 a month from that point on in order to keep the service. He agreed, because he liked watching the sport and other services through Sky.
I shook my head again, realising that he was, indeed, a LOSER. This guy gets jerked around by service providers and doesn't have the balls to say, "Excuse me?! You advised me that I can get this service, you accepted it, you provided it. You are now NOT going to do what you've just said you want to do, otherwise I'll cancel the contract and then discuss YOUR breach of contract with you."
That's what he should have done, but nooooo. This guy has no balls, and no idea about management of himself and his life.
I wonder how many people are the same? I know that the only reason companies try to screw over people is because they can. Experience has shown them that customers generally are willing to allow themselves to be screwed over, and so screwing people over becomes a profitable business plan. It's easy to not screw over those that 'fight back', because there's a lot of profit to be made from all the rest.
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