More on A@*holes
A sign that you’ve had a good idea is that other people take it for their own. So it’s been with our “No Asshole” policy. We hear from people all of the time that they’ve adopted it in their life and work and have also been introduced at meetings as the “No Asshole” people (hey, we’ll take it, anatomical discomfort be damned!).
One of the more flattering adaptations, however, was when we learned that Dan, the CEO of our commercial waterproofing contractor down in Dallas, was using it (as well as Aaron James’ Assholes: A Theory) as the inspiration for a “How to Manage an Asshole” helpercard that he was adding to his field manual.
If you’re not familiar with our policy, Permanent Equity takes a proactive, zero tolerance approach to unabashed assholism. We have no tolerance for consistently dishonest, manipulative, belittling, or megalomaniacal behavior. No tolerance for those who believe being rude and obnoxious is a strategy. No tolerance for employees or partners who play politics or cut-corners as well-honed techniques. No tolerance for those who focus on how to get the most, the quickest.
Dan’s twist was that a zero tolerance policy was great and all, but in the world of commercial construction, projects involve up to 40 different trades competing to be in the same place at the same time. Inevitably those circumstances can lead to someone (a vendor, bystander, customer, fellow employee, etc.) either being or acting like an asshole. What then?
Dan’s tips:
Do not engage an asshole if he/she is angry.
Do not try to out-asshole an asshole.
If you feel unsafe, leave the premises.
But his insight was that every now and then his people would find out someone is a real asshole. Yet when they did some digging, most of the time they would find out that they were to blame for the circumstances that created the asshole because they did not communicate, plan, or execute properly. So the first step in resolving an issue with someone who might be acting like an asshole, Dan says, is to look in the mirror.
Look, none of this excuses someone for being an asshole. But it’s one thing to call a person out for being an asshole and a better, more constructive thing to help them stop.
– By Tim Hanson
