It was once said (I just can’t remember by whom on this occasion) that “there is no room for democracy in this place, we are trying to achieve something” – in fact, maybe I paraphrased something else, in which case I’ll claim that quote as my own!
Now, that sentiment surrounding democracy may not sit comfortably with everyone and that is hardly surprising as we are all programmed to believe that democracy is good and totalitarianism is most definitely bad. But is it that straight-forward?
Boaty McBoatface and the national poll that got out of hand
This issue came to mind this week with the news that, as a result of a national poll for a new name for the Polar Research Ship, the public chose “Boaty McBoatface” as their popular choice. Now, call me old-fashioned, but the name hardly embodies the high level, high investment, scientific vessel at the vanguard of global exploration – in short, it was a bit of fun that got out of hand. Even the originator of the name went on Twitter to apologise.
That, however, didn’t stop the Science Minister being grilled on Radio 5 as to why he would not “embrace the people’s choice” whilst being reminded that “the people have spoken”. I wish he would have turned around and simply said because it is a s*** name and insulting to the science community. But he wouldn’t say that, because it flies against a ‘democratic’ society. Instead they will revert to small print in the competition to provide an escape route. It seems that the whole episode gives rise to Winston Churchill’s comment when he observed that “the best argument against democracy is a 5-minute conversation with the average voter”.
So where does business sit in this democracy equation?
This issue probably goes to the heart of good leadership and a healthy business culture. Personally I always have a problem with true democracy in that it would involve everyone having an equal say in all issues.
Why is that so bad?
Well, because, in my humble opinion, we are an innovating, progressive business. If we were to seek agreement with all parties in the business in how we progress on a whole raft of issues, we would, by definition, end up with the most popularly acceptable outcome – and that means being average.
Does any business really want to be ‘average’?
I certainly don’t want Jobtrain to be seen as that!
We have worked tirelessly over the past 15+ years to develop a product (and a service) that tries to set a standard amongst Applicant Tracking Systems, not to simply follow and copy. But does that mean advocating a single voice, dictatorship? Absolutely not! Mark Twain once said that “if voting made any difference they wouldn’t let us do it”. That may have been true in business a few decades ago, but any business that ignores the needs of its customers (and all of its employees) is destined for failure and the only way to establish those needs is to engage and to listen.
Listen to what your customers have to say
In that regard at Jobtrain, we canvass views of our clients (invaluably, many of the best improvement ideas we get are as a result of feedback from the ‘frontline’), we monitor the candidate feedback we get, we examine the metrics in our own business and we look to encourage all our employees to constantly learn (through training, exhibitions, literature etc) – essentially, I like to think we listen, we discuss and we act. That last step is all important. We need to be able to make brave decisions at times and that is where the onus comes back to the leadership.
Making the right choices and critical decisions is not always obvious and it can sometimes back-fire, but I generally believe that if you know what you want to achieve then it is worth taking the risk occasionally to make sure you get there – after all, “you cannot cross a chasm in two small jumps”, as David Lloyd George once opined.
But it is not management that determines the fate of organisations, it is the customers – and in that sense, you cannot afford to be a true dictator, ruling your world based on how you see it (and, crucially, not on how your customers may see it). There are many examples of businesses that have fallen from grace by believing their own hype and not what their customers are seeing or experiencing. That level of corporate arrogance rarely goes unpunished and rightly so.
So whilst I have doubts about popular democracy as a means of bringing about change, I would also urge great caution to those who reject listening to wider views (as Winston Churchill cited above). After all, he was voted out of office immediately after what should have been his finest hour!