Can anyone remember the Access credit card…. It was used by 3 of the 4 major UK banks before sadly becoming defunct in 1996 after being taken over by MasterCard.
Here’s the little blighter! He was never as cool as VISA but as a penniless student I loved him all the same. Look at that cheeky grin man!
Access had a famous slogan ‘Your Flexible Friend’.
If you’re in a tight spot, swipe my arse buy that extra round of drinks and worry about it later.
This post however, is not about falling in love with credit cards and losing your house. It’s about understanding how being flexible in approach is defo the best way to live….
Introducing the very snootily named Law of Requisite Variety.
This law is a presupposition of NLP – Neuro Lingistic Programming. For clarification, a presupposition simply means that it is considered convenient to believe.
See, we are learning stuff already you clever kipper!
Here is what the law means……..
In essence, the person with most flexibility in their behaviour will have the most influence on the system. This basically means that the more options you have, the more freedom you will feel and the better your quality of life will be…
So in layman terms, when in any interaction, with anyone, stay open minded and curious and always look to maximise the options available to yourself and others.
By saying No or being dismissive to someone, you may believe you are exerting power but you are almost certainly reducing your control within the relationship.
Additionally, if you are a leader and are not flexible with your team you are likely to lose control when the relationship starts to break down. This can manifest itself covertly or overtly…. Below is a great analogy to remember what is likely to happen if you are inflexible with your team…
Moving swiftly on. Here is a simple example to demonstrate flexibility in action. I have been lucky enough to stay a few times at the Jumeirah Beach hotel in Dubai. It sits in the shadow of the famous iconic landmark the Burj Al Arab and the magnificent setting is matched by the incredible levels of service.
In the hotel they have written reminders in the bars, restaurants and rooms of 2 rules for guests to see. My recollection of the rules is…
- We will alway smile and say hello first
- Our first response to any request will Never be No
Whilst Rule 1 is a belter, it is Rule 2 that is relevant to this post.
Think about how clever this is. You cannot always say Yes, but by not immediately saying No you keep options on the table and show you are receptive to helping the other person find a solution, rather than dismissing their issue.
In addition, by showing you are willing to work to resolve issues, the demands from the other person usually become more realistic and reasonable.
We have all had poor levels of service where someone has initially dismissed our issue and because of emotion, it has rapidly escalated to the only solution being the CEO personally delivering in a strawberry daiquiri to us in a Seychelles hideaway fully expensed.
- How often do you respond ‘the answer is No now how can I help?’
- Have you any examples of when you have tried to limit options to someone else and it ended poorly long term?
- Where have you the opportunity to practice this? Customers, colleagues or at home?
Don’t be a brat saying No at the drop of a hat. Go and make things better my flexible friends. Using this approach is Priceless….
And just like THE HOFF for everything else there’s MasterCard!
