| Rich lives up to his promised off-beat
creativity in his email reply to Turning Point - an article written about
him. Here goes his reply with my embedded commentary. -Dr. Irene From: Rich
To: <drirene@drirene.com>
Subject: about turning point, 01
Dear Irene:
First, simple thanx about publishing this page on your web site, it's alive. Updated just a
couple of hours ago as I begin to write this, sort of goes above and beyond the 'call of
duty.' Yes, lots of updates. Also ALLOW ME TO SHOUT TO
DIFFERENTIATE ME FROM YOU. YOU KNOW, BOUNDARIES ARE VERY IMPORTANT. BY THE WAY,
THIS IS NOT ABOUT CALL OF DUTY. IT IS ACT OF LOVE.
Next, per request, e-mail works. Intention being to increment my responses this web site
page (notice 01) & sessions, through time, let's (hopefully) notice some
progress in this thing. You get 'footnotes' of an
'interesting'(?) case study - win-win. BE WARNED: SHRINK HAS
EGO PROBLEM: ONLY ACCEPTS SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME.
Key issue is <<about avoiding Terror; the kind of existential terror and panic that
nightmares are made of.>> (quoted from Turning
Point) "Terror" being loosely defined as
emotively compelling and logically arrived at assumption of a negative outcome. YES. Let's fractionate about Rich, generating
a wholly owned subsidiary, who will be referred to as "Mr.T." He's got a belief
system that he knows to be absolutely right, and enough gold chains around his neck to
evidence same. Solid gold chains of 24 carrot - fact. Real evidence of the long slow climb
out of the emotional ghetto. Nobody in the ghetto has chains like him. He's now (slight
pun) both Rich AND famous. Everybody loves him. He MUST be right?????? PROBLEM WITH THE CHAINS IS THAT THEY WEIGH HIM DOWN.
Mr.T is also a very imposing and powerful dude, definitely knows how to handle
himself in a conflict. Kicks butt. Once the situation is presented to him, that's all he
can do; it's all he knows how to do. (He's not too bright like that you understand.) But
he is a survivor. YES. Push
comes to shove, however, he's definitely the sort of a guy you'd want to have around. HIS WIFE AGREES WITH THAT STATEMENT. SHE JUST DOESN'T WANT TO GET HIT WITH
THE FLYING CHAINS WHEN HE DOES A QUICK ABOUT FACE. HE DOESN'T GET IT AND THINKS SHE
WANTS TO GRAB THE CHAINS AND CASH THEM IN.
So what's to be done about Mr.T? Rich, on the Bored (non-Freudian slip GOD FORBID, NOT ON A BEHAVIORIST'S SITE) of
Directors, he is caught up in this 'Process Management' thing. Turning (point) his
attention to the distinct liabilities the Corporation has with a Mr.T. on the payroll,
thanks to this high-powered consulting firm's advice. THE
CORPORATION CAN ALWAYS FIND ANOTHER CONSULTANT. Mr.T. is more
likely than not, to expose the corporation to some massive lawsuit at some point in time.
Always doing something 'limbic' with the stuffholder's stuff. Whenever that happens, the
corporation could be history. NOT WHEN THAT
HAPPENS...ITS BEEN HAPPENING. BUT THE CORPORATION IS TOO TIGHTLY KNIT TO BE
HISTORY, AS DEMONSTRATED BY HISTORY.
Then again, the corporation itself has a number of 'key issues' that the Stuffholders,
acting both as individuals and as a group, find quite disturbing. Certain members of the
Bored seem to be exerting more
influence at Bored meetings than their percentage of stuff 'entitles' them to, especially
the founder's daughter. OH YEAH!
Cover girl of the enterprise and the emotional favorite, her face is the
company's logo. Founder's son is way too busy hanging out in the rock and roll scene to
care, or is that just all an act? IN PART. PROBABLY MORE AN
EXPRESSION OF HELPLESSNESS. He does have a big block of
stuff, but rarely votes. YEAH. HE'S AFRAID TO GET CAUGHT UP
IN THE BACKSTABBING. TOO BAD BECAUSE HIS VOICE IS ONE OF REASON. And if that wasn't bad enough, Mr.T's been strutting around Bored
meetings, exercising way more than his block of stuff entitles him to. Trying to
impose order in a chaotic organization, he's CERTAIN his way is best, THE MAN HAS SOME DAMN GOOD IDEAS. but the
rest of the stuffholders don't much care for his 'style.' HIS
STYLE S...S. His message, therefore, is also not given much
attention either. NO. WHICH IS UNFORTUNATE. TOO BAD HE'S SO
INTO INSISTING THAT OTHERS HEAR HIM. BOY CAN HE SHOUT! HE SHOULD READ A FEW OF
THOSE EASTERN PHILOSOPHY BOOKS. YOU KNOW, THE ONES ABOUT LETTING GO, LETTING BE, BEING
STILL WHEN THE REST OF THEM ARE FLINGING MUD. EVEN SITTING STILL IF HE GETS HIT WITH MUD
IN THE FACE. WHEN THEY QUIET DOWN, THEY MAY EVEN LISTEN. ESPECIALLY SINCE HE HAS HIMSELF
IS MODELING THE REASONABLE POSTURE. He's very concerned that
the books are out of balance, especially the Responsibility Division's. AND HE IS RIGHT. The Company's books are
hopelessly enmeshed and mis-managed; large blocks of stuff are missing. All it would take
is one call to the S.E.C. (Stuff Exchange Commission) to bring the whole thing down.
Besides that, one never knows how a stuffholder vote will turn out, do they... THE OTHER THING WITH MR. T: WHEN HE WALKS AROUND STRUTTING HIS CHAINS, HE GIVES
THEM SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT. THAT'S A MAJOR WAY HE CONTRIBUTES TO THE
CORPORATE CLIMATE. HERE WE GO AGAIN: IF HE COULD STOP STRUTTING, IN GIVING THE
STUFFHOLDERS NOTHING TO FOCUS ON OR TO BLAME, THEY MIGHT JUST HAVE TO EXAMINE THE STUFF THEY'RE
HOLDING.
The Consultant's Process Management recommendation is to figure out how to at once limit
the corporation's 'exposure' to Mr.T's limbic management style, while NOT just giving him
his walking papers? NO! NO! NO! CPM'S TASK IS TO FIGURE OUT
HOW TO HELP MR. T WAKE UP AND STOP STRUTTING.
Should the stuffholders evoke their rights to a liquidation of the corporate assets,
should Mr.T really be around to participate in the re-organization phase?? PUH-LEEZ! PITY POTS ARE TO BE LEFT IN THE TOILET AND FLUSHED AWAY. PRONTO. He is, if nothing else, a survivor. Besides, consultant's best advice is
to re-direct Mr.T's mission statement??? SEZ WHO? SOMEBODY
PLEASE TELL MR. T THAT CPM'S BEST ADVICE IS FOR MR. T TO GROOM HIMSELF TO LEAD THE
CORPORATION INTO THE 21st CENTURY-- AND DO IT DESPITE THE FACT THAT THE
STUFFHOLDERS ARE RIDDLED WITH THEIR OWN STUFF.
<<For the angry person, self-control must be about breaking the unyielding control
over the "feeling self", while at the same time imposing behavioral control over
compulsive acting out. The angry person does it the other way around!>> (quoted from Turning Point)
None of this is easy. NOPE.
Guess that's what they're paying Rich the big bucks for. He'll find a way to turn the
corporation around. He's personally responsible for his block of stuff, and he's very
concerned about the Responsibility Division's problems. HE IS
PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS BLOCK OF STUFF, SOME OF WHICH HE NEEDS
TO...STUFF. HE NEEDS TO REALIZE THAT HE IS MORE LIKELY TO ENABLE THE RESPONSIBILITY
DEPARTMENT TO RESOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS IF HE FOCUSES SIMPLY ON MANAGING HIS STUFF BLOCK.
HE NEEDS TO QUIT GETTING DIVERTED FROM HIS GOAL EACH TIME A WAD OF MUD GETS FLUNG AT A
RESPONSIBILITY DEPARTMENT MEETING. HE ESPECIALLY NEEDS TO QUIT GETTING DIVERTED IF THE
MUD HITS HIM. AGAIN: IF HE COULD ALLOW THEM TO DEAL WITH THEIR OWN MUD
SLINGING AND MUD SIDING (INSTEAD OF TAKING THE MUD AND ACTIVELY RUBBING IT IN HIS FACE),
HE IS LIKELY TO FIND THAT THE OTHERS WILL FOLLOW HIS LEAD. THEY DESPERATELY WANT TO, BUT
DON'T KNOW HOW! With all the stuffoptions he's gathered
on down through the years, he's simply too heavily invested to just walk. OF COURSE HE SHOULDN'T WALK! THEY NEED HIM! MORE THAN THAT, THEY
DESPERATELY WANT HIM. ALL OF THEM. ESPECIALLY THE VP. ESPECIALLY THE COVER
GIRL. ESPECIALLY THE ROCK STAR. HE IS THE MISSING PIECE. BUT HE'S GOT MUD GOT IN HIS
EYES AND HE'S BLIND! He
may, however, burn out. Should that happen, it's better to be charred than loose his
entire block of stuff in the corporation. Promises to take care of that Monday. THAT'S GOOD. THAT SHOULD MAKE IT EASIER FOR HIM TO ATTEND TO HIS BLOCK OF
STUFF AND IGNORE THE RESPONSIBILITY DEPARTMENT'S DIRT. (A reference to medication. Doc's
meds plug: We are after all a bunch of chemicals and make our life much easier if we
balance that piece. This is all physical!)
Also, he's working on the Mr.T situation at this time (who's not too bright like that, you
understand.) IS HE BRIGHT ENOUGH TO RECOGNIZE THAT IT
FEELS BETTER TO FEEL OK THAN IT IS TO FEEL RESPONSIBLE? Rich
has been friends with Mr.T long before the corporation was ever thought of. The Situation
has to be handled deftly. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MR. T.
HE JUST NEEDS TO MIND HIS POSITION. HE IS, AFTER ALL, A MINORITY.
Thnx,
Rich
PS - Last night noticed Mr.T strutting around with some new virtual chains. Not too bright
like that, you understand; he thinks they're real. Have to talk to him about that, but
he's not a good listener. It could take some time for him to-get-with-the-program. NOT A PROBLEM. HE'S GETTING BRIGHTER BY THE DAY. HAVE ANY IDEAS ON HOW TO
HELP HIM SIT ON HIS CHAINS VS. STRUT THEM?
PPS - HERE IS A HINT: (PICK A or B:) A. "YEAH, RIGHT.
LET'S CELEBRATE ANOTHER YEAR OF NOT GETTING KICKED OUT OF THE MUD HOLE. MAY BE THE
LAST...SURE FEELS THAT WAY..." OR. "THANK YOU!"
Also, feel much better about _________ for just having taken the time, in fits &
starts over this day, to verbalize this out. None-the-less, Mr.T's still admiring his new
virtual chains. Slow learner to be sure, his butt needs to be charred. CU.
GOOD. KEEP VERBALIZING!
Irene
PPPS - Rich, if you haven't done so
already, please ask Gail to read this. And Rock Star. And Cover Girl.
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