|
 Indifference
by
Tom Pryor
in·dif·fer·ent:
adj. (1) having or showing no interest, concern or feeling; (2)
uninterested, apathetic, or unmoved; (3) detached; (4) lacking emotional
involvement.
Indifference.
We are all indifferent about one thing or another. I enjoy going to Barnes &
Noble every chance I get to check out the latest books and CD's. My wife Sue is
indifferent to all that. On the other hand, I'm indifferent to visiting Dollar
General, but Sue enjoys shopping there weekly for its $1 bargains. You've
got your own personal list of things that fall into this category: things you
don't love, but you don't hate them --- you're just indifferent to them. Your
personal list might include the color mauve, accountants, any movie starring Madonna,
black-eyed peas or even Activity Based Cost Management (ABM/ABC). Signs
of indifference abound in our culture. Americans have become numb to 300-point
swings in the stock market. Color-coded national security alerts are shrugged
off. According to the U.S. Treasury, Americans exhibit a great indifference to
retirement planning ... 93% of Americans that reach age 65 have absolutely no
savings. Millions of Americans, who ran to church the weekend following September
11, 2001, soon became indifferent to God and stayed home. Kids skip meals with
the family. Dads repeatedly flip through TV channels. Parents contribute to the
church or charity only when asked. Examples of indifference abound. Need I say
more? Some times,
indifference doesn't matter. With certain things, however, your personal and professional
life can be adversely affected by indifference. For example, you are headed for
trouble if you are indifferent about your health, your job, your family, or your
finances. And if you are an owner or manager that doesn't know with certainty
the cost and profitability of your products, services and customers, the health
of the business will be adversely affected. Indifference
is subtle. It develops gradually. One is not diligent and enthusiastic one day
and indifferent the next. As a result, indifference is hard to self-diagnosis.
I recently met with the leadership of a large organization that had invested several
years and dollars in a multi-site Activity Based Cost system. Management's basic
question was, "Why should we continue to fund ABC?" Even though it was
evident they were confident ABC is theoretically sound, their heart wasn't in
it. That's where
indifference strikes first … the heart. Then it manifests itself in inactivity.
Because it is difficult to see what a person or organization is not doing, it
is much harder to detect indifference than if overt errors are being performed.
It's hard to see that I don't care as much as I ought to, that I'm not involved
as much as I ought to or that I should have grown more by now. This is especially
true with a person or organization whose indifference has not caused them to quit
altogether.
What's
worse, being lost or being indifferent?
I
say the latter. A
lost person will either keep searching or eventually ask for help. But someone
indifferent sits, ignores information and disregards advice. Lost are destined
to be found. Indifferent people and organizations, however, are destined to be
lost forever. They're not interested in anything, including being found. The reasons
for indifference are many. I've narrowed the list to ten primary causes and proposed
solutions.
Indifference:
Causes & Solutions
1.
I can't hear you!
Cause:
FORTUNE magazine's Alan Farnham reports, "A battery of recent studies
by a host  of
management consulting firms reveals an alarming split between what employees really
want and what top management think they want." (1)
When a communication gap exists, employees become indifferent to the leader, the
company and their job. Solution:
Management must regularly communicate with employees. Ask what they want. While
paychecks are important, today's workers also place priorities on family time,
trust, facts, a meaningful mission and security. When needs are asked for and
met, employees are rarely indifferent. Sharing
of information closes the communication gap. To eliminate the indifference that
often arises during or after the creation of an Activity Based Cost Management
(ABM/ABC) system, ICMS is introducing this week ABM E-Mail, a new, easy method
of getting ABM/ABC reports to more employees.
2.
Tolerance
Cause:
An attitude of "anything goes" leads to indifference. Without a
fixed point of reference and absence of absolute truths, indifference takes over.
Tolerance was originally based on "love the sinner but hate the sin".
Tolerance has been redefined by today's society to mean unconditional condoning
of any behavior, even if it is morally wrong. Without limits, indifference abounds.
Solution:
Accept the fact that there are absolute truths. If you're struggling with
indifference caused by tolerance, search out absolute truths. You don't have to
accept and condone other people's beliefs to show your respect. As the old saying
goes, "If you don't take a stand, you'll fall for anything." To eliminate
indifference, create a list of the things you will no longer tolerate. That will
get you fired up!
3.
Folly of Tomorrow
Cause:
People are indifferent to things they think can be put off until tomorrow.
USA Today reports "64.5% of Americans are overweight, 31% of which are obese,
30 or more pounds over healthy body weight." (2) Cemeteries, bankruptcy court,
hospitals and unemployment lines are full of people and organizations that waited
too long to start a diet, exercise or implement new and improved methods. Solution:
Americans want to be indifferent without a consequence. Wake up! Everything we
do or say has a consequence. Continuous improvement consultant Patty Bender (www.rplusmore.com)
created consequences charts for her children, i.e. If you make your bed today,
you get to go outside and play. If you don't, no going outside. It's your choice.
Because there were both positive and negative consequences, the charts in their
rooms eliminated indifference. If you're a procrastinator, get an accountability
partner and create some consequences charts.
4.
No show-me
Cause:
If a person is told what to do but not shown how to do it, indifference occurs.
Thousands of organizations have implemented Activity Based Cost systems during
the past fifteen years. Only a handful, however, have taught non-financial employees
how to read, interpret and use the ABM/ABC reports. As a result, most managers
are indifferent about ABM. Solution:
Teach people how not to be indifferent. My wife and I visited a local McDonald's
for breakfast. The adult who waited on us was friendly, fast and focused. After
completing our transaction, she used the next 45 seconds to straighten chairs
and clean trays before rushing back to serve the next customer. Nothing indifferent
about her behavior. The teenager standing at the next register learned a life
lesson as he watched her be different about her job. The employer noticed too.
Don't assume people will figure things out. Teach them. Train them. Show them.
5.
No vision
Cause:
The Bible says in Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish."
Without a vision, mission or meaningful purpose, people perish into indifference.
In the absence of a vision and well-defined goal delivered by a trusted leader,
people begin to not care about their job and their lives. Vision… seeing
something that no one else sees … cannot be bought. Leaders with vision are
rare. As a result, many organizations today are indifferent about the future.
Solution:
Defining or redefining an organization's vision, mission or purpose is one of
the best ways to eliminate indifference. A meaningful mission provides motivation,
purpose, and direction. People, for example, are indifferent to a goal of filling
1,000 sandbags. But people are energized when the mission is to build a dike to
save their city. People are indifferent to "filling" an ABC system with
data, but they're energized if the mission is to save the company. If you're organization
is indifferent about ABM, search out people who have a passion for ABM, bring
in a controversial ABM expert, visit an organization that successfully sustains
ABM or re-energize staff with hands-on ABM training.
6.
No Dee Dah Days
Cause:
In the absence of celebration, indifference takes hold. It is so easy to get caught
in a rut of hurrying from one activity to the next, marking off tasks on our to-do
list, that we don't schedule some joy in our Day-Timer. Life becomes a rut of
indifference. John Ortberg says,  "I
realized that I tend to divide my minutes into two categories: living, and waiting
to live. Most of my life is spent in transit: trying to get somewhere, waiting
to begin, driving someplace, standing in line, waiting for a meeting to end, trying
to get a task completed, worrying about something bad that might happen, or being
angry about something that did happen." (3) Solution:
If you're like me, you may not be good at celebrating the small and big good
things that take place. John Ortberg's children broke him from indifference with
their "Dee Dah Day Dance". When they're happy, the kids jump up and
down yelling "dee dah day, dee dah day". While its not necessary do
the Dee Dah Day Dance to eliminate indifference, search out a "joy mentor",
set aside time for pleasant things, unplug the TV, or hold an onsite motivational
seminar. Joy lifts people and organizations out of the funk of indifference.
7.
Softball life
Cause:
Soft words, soft preaching, soft messages, soft budgets, soft performance measures,
soft leaders and soft parents comfort those who are indifferent. Positive words
certainly have their place, but messages that omit the negative simply make indifferent
people and organizations feel good about themselves. Soft sustains indifference.
Solution:
To drive my car straight to its destination, I have to correct the steering every
few seconds. Conditions cause the wheels to go left or right without my doing.
I have to correct the steering wheel. The same holds true with a person's life
or an entire organization. Hard and soft words and actions are needed to break
out of a rut of indifference. Encouragement must be balanced with correcting,
rebuking, accountability and discipline.
8.
Me, Myself and I
Cause:
A person that becomes self-centered becomes indifferent to the needs of those
around them. And if an organization becomes self-centered, they become indifferent
to the needs of their customers and suppliers. Inward focus insulates people and
organizations, resulting in indifference and insolvency. Solution:
People who are depressed can help themselves by helping someone else.  When
a person helps someone in need, they immediately feel better about themselves.
Picking someone else up gives you a lift as well. A great source to learn solutions
to self-centeredness can be found in the new book titled, "The
Generosity Factor" by Ken Blanchard and S. Truett Cathy, founder
of Chick-Fil-A restaurants. Even though Mr. Cathy closes his restaurants every
Sunday, his sales per store equal or exceed most seven-day a week competitors.
As a result, employees are not indifferent about working at Chick-Fil-A. Their
95% retention rate is one of the highest in the food industry.
9.
Frustration
Cause:
Repeated frustration with a situation, no end in sight, often leads to indifference.
In that situation, people often give up, not caring if things change. They become
indifferent about the problem, not even searching for a solution. Doing the same
thing over and over yet while hoping for different results is not only stupid,
it's frustrating. When a person or organization gives up, they become indifferent
to living. Solution:
When frustrated, use one of the proven Total Quality Management (TQM) techniques
called the Five Whys method. Ask yourself why five times, i.e. Q #1: Why am I
frustrated? A: No one is helping me. Q #2: Why isn't anyone helping me?, etc.
A problem defined is a problem half-solved. List your frustrations. Get at the
root causes. Ask people to help you define solutions. When other people begin
to provide their insights, your indifference will begin to fade.
10.
Lack of spirituality
Cause:
"Too often people think about their 'spiritual lives' as just one more aspect
of their existence,
alongside and largely separate from their 'financial lives'" (3)
says teaching pastor John Ortberg. Compartmentalizing spirituality leads to an
attitude of indifference in every other aspect of your personal or professional
life. Solution:
Make prayer and Bible study a daily activity, not just an occasional Sunday morning
activity. As the recently popular phrase recommends, ask yourself WWJD …
What would Jesus do? One thing for sure … Jesus was never indifferent!
Conclusion
I
am indifferent to shopping at Dollar General, but I am certainly not indifferent
to my wife. Sue is indifferent to bookstores, but thank God, she's not indifferent
to me. Don't waste your personal or professional life being unconsciously indifferent.
Make a conscious decision to eliminate indifference. Don't give up and surrender
to repetitive poor results. Eliminate indifference. The results can be outstanding.
Our church administrator
recently asked for sixty men to show up to set up 3,000 chairs for our church
groundbreaking. One hundred twenty men showed up! These men may have been indifferent
to the task of setting up chairs but they were certainly not indifferent to serving
God and the people who would be sitting in the seats. Take
time to do what these men did … exchange your indifference for inspiration.
Indifferent about your cost system? Indifferent about Activity Based Management?
Indifferent about your life? Give up on your indifference. Convert negative thoughts
into positive action. Both you and those around you will benefit. (1)
Top Dog,
J David Pincus & J. Nicholas DeBonis, McGraw-Hill, 1994
(2) USA Today,
page 9D, October 9, 2002
(3) The
Life You've Always Wanted, John Ortberg, Zondervan, 1997 Send
your comments or questions on this article to TomPryor@icms.net.
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