Being Right

I ripped page 4 out of a management training manual back when I was working. The writing is at least 14 years old and I cannot properly credit the author without a title page. I had underlined a sentence about many employees who refuse to accept change which the writer later links to the fear of admitting they were wrong about what they believe. The following sentence caught my eye today: “I have determined that one of the most dominating, motivating forces on earth is the ‘great need to be right.'” He cites examples of managers saying, “it is impossible to find good people.” They affirm that long enough, they convince themselves that they are right, and it becomes very difficult for them to find good people. I was getting excited about the possibility of forwarding to President Trump both the insights and the rational steps to overcome this tendency. I figured I might become famous in the process if I stole the advice and put it in my own words. But I had destroyed the next page and all the rest of the presentation back when I had a bad attitude about management consultants and all their theoretical mumbo jumbo. I think I saved the one page because I recognized that I have always had a weakness for wanting to be right. But I feel like a loser next to the President. His need to be right is so much bigger than mine. It is huge.

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