For
many years—many, many, many years—I’ve been putting aside stories
and more for a book themed around a subject I call Neapolitan
Management.
It
is not a perfect theory. But I believe in the theory of threes,
because it can simplify things when it comes to discussion and
more. And, I think there is something in the idea that just needs
to be cleaned up and sorted out.
Have
you ever seen a container of Neapolitan ice cream? Three flavors,
one box. The idea for my book has a foundation that divides any
one set of people into three groups: chocolates, vanillas and
strawberries. And using the basic definitions for something like
a workplace…
Chocolates
– Because chocolate is the best flavor (and I will not argue
that point), chocolates represent the best employees. These
are the ones that not only do their job, they do it really well,
sometimes assist others in getting their work done, and essentially
the environment is better because they’re around.
Vanillas
– The plain flavor, kind of an ingredient in everything, not
in any way bad, but just sort of there. The vast majority of
employees fall into this group. You need them. You want them.
But they’re not setting the world on fire.
Strawberries
– The troublemakers. Might even been decent employees by talent,
but they create more problems than they solve.
As
I noted, that’s the basics.
I
bring it up now for a few reasons.
First,
one main idea in virtually any examination of group culture falls
into the idea of keeping the troublemakers away from those that
are undecided.
I
don’t think it’s an accident that just about any kind of examination
of groups puts people into some sort of 10-80-10 or 15-70-15 batches.
Simply explained, a 10-80-10 breakdown means ten percent of a
group are overachievers, eighty percent average, and ten percent
difficult. You can slide and adjust in any way—5-90-5, 12-76-12,
and so on to whatever—the one hundred percent club will be defined
by having a really good group, a really bad group, and a somewhat
unspectacular group. And, more often than not, the good and bad
are smaller, with the neutral the largest of all and usually a
majority on their own.
(Again,
basics. Really informal, just to get the point across.)
Second,
the squeaky wheel theory of the world. Generally, people that
have no complaints, or just don’t feel like complaining, usually
don’t say a thing. So, in a 10-80-10 breakdown, ninety percent
of our group isn’t going to say much at all. Ninety percent
silence. Ten percent do raise issues, and because they do, they
get the grease.
We
could go on, but I don’t want to raise way too many areas that
either need explanation or investigation, break us off into wild
tangents, or raise questions. Why? Well… for instance,
Depending
on the subjects we are discussing and trying to sort out, the
strawberry classification may actually include some really great
ideas and people. But, the ideas they are offering break from
the establishment into new areas and potential change. People
get uncomfortable when you present change, even if the change
noted is perfectly acceptable and possibly overdue for discussion
and action. But earlier I labeled the strawberries as troublemakers.
So, now we have a question. Tangent. Movement away from the main
idea.
So,
just the basics.
Right
now, we are facing some amazingly interesting situations across
the country and around the world. Cultural. Medical. Financial.
And that’s just three to get us started. But the reality is, a
lot of people are firmly entrenched in their ways. More often
than not, those are self-serving ways. More often than not, “what’s
in it for me” ways.
For
me, the biggest surprise in Neapolitan Management as I’ve tried
to develop and build the concept, is that every now and again
the strawberries need to be treated like chocolates. In short,
trouble isn’t always trouble, occasionally trouble is an opportunity.
The difficulty is recognizing it as such when it’s presented.
And in order for that to work, well…
Remember
I mentioned keeping the troublemakers away from the undecided?
In many situations, that’s true. But there are moments when the
middle ground… the undecided… the vanillas need to be given accurate
information and motivated to get involved.
I
didn’t start this essay, years ago, with the idea of having an
answer. I was hoping the ideas might prove simple enough, while
not being too controversial, if the examples were well-defined.
But I know now that isn’t the case. And I know more strongly each
day that it isn’t the case.
It
is a Neapolitan society. And, we’re overdue for many discussions.