Bypass

September 21, 2003

Revised:  December 20, 2006

Last Revised:  May 23, 2012 4:50 PM

Danger Condidion

Overfilled In-Baskets -- Danger

Ordinarily when a senior "asks" a junior to do something, it would be wise for the junior to consider that request as an "order."  Society has two ways of looking at this.

Society is rather namby-pamby about these things, would not rather "give or receive orders" and "hopes" that the junior will just do it because the boss is a nice guy.

Successful organizations, on the other hand, breed a spirit of "co-operation" such that formal orders are never necessary and requests are accepted and acted upon.  These may seem similar?  They are not.  In the successful organization the non-performance is handled with bypass.  In the namby-pamby organization, non-performance is met with hope or begging.

Sometimes the non-performance is such an obstacle to the forward thrust of the group that the senior has no choice but to bypass the obstruction.

In Vibrant Life when you are "asked" to do something you would be wise to treat that as an order, even when gently stated.

A senior should not make a request of a junior which the junior cannot accomplish.  If the junior accepts a job, knowing he can't do it, the flunk is on him for not objecting.  The excuse that, "I never thought I could do this" or "I knew it couldn't be done!"  -- these explanations are not valid in the face of silence on receipt of the order.

On the other hand, a senior who makes a reasonable request must expect it to be done.

Not done?

A few polite nudges and queries are OK.  This is an emergency situation.  If the junior just doesn't seem to be doing the job, and nothing is happening, perhaps there is some explanation that a gentle nudge will smoke out.

But, when the job doesn't get done for some time, or not in the time requested, then it is time for the Senior to bypass the non-performing Junior and do the job himself, or start to do that job, step back, and invite the Junior to take over.

So, "bypass" is a management tool that must be employed by the Senior when appropriate and lack of objection in the first place does not excuse non-performance.  Also, the senior cannot accept a "false report" without doing something about it -- that "something" will probably include, at least, the bypass of the junior's lack of use of the data about what is a false report.

We don't ask and then hope!

We expect compliance!

If necessary, we bypass. 

 

 

Official

Karl Loren

Quotes from L. Ron Hubbard are copyright 1994 © by the L. Ron Hubbard Library. All rights reserved.