Years ago, I wrote about the mob - people who didn't seem to care; people going about their work without taking much time to think about the consequences of their actions; people who endured the burdens of others as if that was their destiny; people who, without visible question or resistance, accepted the norm and the status quo; people who reacted perfectly to the dominant acts of others then, behind the dominant backs, spent considerable time complaining about their unhappy lots in life. 

As I defined it: The mob = the herd. And mob mentality = herd mentality.

I rarely write about or talk about the herd any more.

Yet, recently, while listening to an audio book¹ I could not help but recall some of the things I have written about the herd. 

Assuming I transcribed all of the words accurately, the audio book stated:

“Self Betrayal:

1. An act contrary to what I feel I should do for another is called an act of self-betrayal.
2. When I betray myself I begin to see the world in a way that justifies my self-betrayal.
3. When I see the world in a self-justifying way my view of reality becomes distorted.
4. So, when I betray myself I enter the box.
5. Over time certain boxes become characteristic of me and I carry them with me.
6. By being in the box I provoke others to be in the box.
7. In the box we invite mutual mistreatment and obtain mutual justification. We collude in giving each other reason to stay in the box.”

I suppose people in the mob rarely, if ever, get out of their boxes.

I suppose self-betrayal is the defining essence of the herd, herd mentality, & mob mentality.

Footnote:

1. 'Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the Box', The Arbinger Institute, (audio book), (2012)

Here's a link to the first 14 CHANGING FOR THE BETTER Thought Posts.

And here are links to other articles about Change: Making Change, You Want to Make Some Changes at Your Business, Change is Only Constructive When People are Comfortable, What Does Change Mean To You?, and Change or Die.

***

I write a lot about change. And, I read a lot about change. I do these things because when it comes to business change is pervasive, underestimated, ignored, and mishandled. And, those are just some of my mistakes.

Change is a topic worthy of life-long learning. Change affects every aspect of our lives. It is very personal, yet it defies being contained so it spreads from person to person and it affects one and all...in different ways.

A solid understanding of change, how it affects self, and how it affects others is an essential piece of leadership knowledge.

Without a good understanding of these aspects of change a leader is not and never will be much of a leader.

So, I study change. I select wisdom from various authors, scientists, leaders, and heroes and I do my best to understand that wisdom and use pieces of it to improve my understanding of change, how it affects me, how it affects the people I work with, and how it affects the people I serve.

Here is an excellent sample of such wisdom, an excerpt from John C. Maxwell's 'The 5 Levels of Leadership', (2011).

"Change in an organization is always a leadership issue. It takes a leader to create positive change. And the best way to start working as a change agent is the same as when trying to build a relationship. You need to find common ground. Any leader who wants to make changes is tempted to point out differences and try to convince others why change is needed. But that rarely works. Instead, focus on the similarities and build upon those. To get started, look for common ground. In the following areas:

• Vision: when the vision is similar, you can bet that the people are standing together and they have the same view. If their vision is similar to yours, you all see it clearly, and everyone has a strong desire to see it come to fruition, you can probably work well together.

• Values: It's difficult to travel with other very long if your values don’t align. Find out what others stand for and try to meet where you share the same standards.

• Relationships: Great teams have people who are as committed to one another as they are to the vision. If you've done the work on level 2, you should already share common ground in this area.

• Attitude: If you are going to get people to work together for positive change, their attitudes need to be positive and tenacious. If they're not, there will be trouble ahead.

• Communication: For change to occur, communication must be open, honest and ongoing. When people are in the dark they start to speculate about what’s happening. And their assumptions are often wrong. Inform people so that everyone is on the same page."

Thought Tweet #548 Evolution of business: it's about survival of those most adaptable...ensure your DNA contains imagination and insight.

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Global commoditization is accelerating and it will cut deeply into both products and services. Only the most-adaptable [the most-creative and the most-innovative and the most-disciplined] businesses will survive and thrive.