Chapter Thirty-Eight
The Selection of Key Positions
In the past, the selection of all positions in business has been determined from the top down. By top down we mean that those in higher authority choose all those who shall be in management below them. In the Molecular Business this process is reversed, and the determination is made from the bottom up. By bottom up we mean that those who work under a manager are the ones to choose who supervises them.
The reason that the business world has reversed this natural order is simple. To understand we must merely look at the evolution of a large company. A successful business is usually created by one person, or a small core of people. This person, or group, then proceeds either alone, or with partners, to create a structure. This is well and good so far, but after the organization is created, authoritarianism and selfish motives set in, and each manager sets up a power base for their own benefit and not for the welfare of the company.
Unprofitable managers will often fool everyone except those employees directly under them. To maintain their power, they must deceive those above him who have power to either remove or advance them. They deceive their superiors by blackmailing the only ones who are aware that they are incompetent: their subordinates. They let them know in certain subtle ways, that the employees understand perfectly clear, that the subordinates’ job and promotion potential is in the managers’ hands. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the employees to support their managers whether they be right or wrong.
If managers create programs that will lose the company money, for instance, the employees may see the flaws but be afraid to express them, for it may make the various managers look bad, and if they make their boss look bad, or even feel bad, their work stability may come under threat. Employees may know this because they voiced mild opposition in the past and it caused them problems. Now the underlings know it is best for them to always support the boss. The workers are thus forced into situations where they must choose between personal benefit and company benefit.
But if they choose the company benefit, the employees will not be in a position to be of any use for they will risk losing their jobs. Therefore, they will rationalize this situation with the thought: “If I choose personal benefit I can stay in the company and at the same time look for ways to quietly help the it.” They rarely find those ways, but the thought salves the conscience.
Thus we see the employees always (almost without exception) choose the personal benefit.
And who can blame them? Such is human nature.
The employees will support the managers in their bad ideas because, under the system, they benefit personally. In addition, they is fearful of any other choice.
If subordinates sees their managers lying, or presenting false pictures to superiors about employee performance, the employee is again faced with the choice of either benefiting the Company by exposing the truth, or profiting by supporting the deception.
Employee will, of course, support the deception. If they go above his boss’ head, the boss will never let them forget it and will look for every opportunity to slow their progress or get them dismissed.
If the manager steals, or takes undue advantage of the Company, the employee will generally remain silent because of the personal benefit.
If a manager fires one of their fellow employees unjustly, other employees may feel hurt for the person, but they will not vocally complain, for they sees they may be next on the list. Again, employees benefit by remaining the silent supporting worker. There has to be a lot of spiritual truth portrayed by the three monkeys who hear, see and speak no evil. The creator of this thought was probably thinking of the worker in the authoritarian system who has lost dignity and integrity as an individual and becomes as a scared monkey.
If managers lets employees assume some of their responsibilities (which they will take credit for) and then takes a three-hour lunch break, the workers will cooperate in shielding them from exposure, even if they are seething from resentment. Why??? Because it is in their best interests. They will figure that the Company must take care of itself.
If a manager had a fight with his wife one morning and takes it out on the subordinate by verbally abusing him and castigating him for wrongs he did not commit; the worker will take the abuse and complain very mildly, if at all, because his job survival is at stake.
We live in an age where we do not fear for our lives on a daily basis as some have in ages past. Survival is the strongest urge in humankind, and anything that threatens this creates the strongest possible fear. In the past, authorities manipulated this survival fear by threatening lives. Today it is jobs or promotions that are threatened, for the sense of survival is probably more strongly connected with our employment than it is with anything else, and when the possibility of termination arises, a deep-seated fear connected with the survival instinct arises.
In short, if employees feel this great fear in connection with their jobs, then the managers assume the totalitarian power of a dictator over their job lives. In any dictatorship the subordinates will try to read the mind, thoughts, wishes and whims of their Holyship and carry them out without question or consideration of the common good. They do this because, under a dictatorship, the subordinates benefit when the superior is happy, whether the kingdom benefits or not. The health of the country, or company, is ALWAYS second to pleasing the totalitarian authority.
The time has come to free the slaves.
Slaves?
Yes, slaves. The Molecular Business is the new Emancipation Proclamation!
Think of it. Most of the workers in the free world are in a form of slavery. Part-time slaves perhaps – eight hours a day – but slaves nevertheless. Ask them and find out. Most will admit that they feel that way even though they may not like applying the word to themselves.
Some slaves are content with their lot; others are very resentful, but they are still slaves if they have no freedom of expression to a superior and must obey his every whim without question.
On the other hand, there are some slaves who have a good master. The tactful master may make his slaves feel like they are not really slaves at all, but are as free individuals, and if the slave and master have a good relationship the slave may be quite happy and content.
But they are still slaves. They would realize this if a pleasant manager is replaced by an egomaniac. They would then understand that the power structure they are in can be harmful to their freedom. They are slaves as long as the master, or manager, has complete power over their job life, and they, in return, have no power over the manager. They are slaves if they can only speak up if the manager allows them to.
Relief only comes when the taskmaster is a “nice guy,” but even then, a slave is still a slave. It’s the system that makes it so.
It’s time for a new system. The consciousness of the free world demands freedom on the job as well as off. That demand is to be met by the Molecular Business.
The idea is very simple and the seeds of its manifestation already surround us, but it has not demonstrated itself strongly in business for one major reason: People in authority love the power it gives them, and they will use this power, at all costs, to keep their area of dominion secure. Since that authority is almost impossible to remove once an organization has been established, it is not likely we will see the established companies turning into Molecular Businesses. The first Molecular Businesses will be entirely new enterprises. After some success we will see a number of faltering companies turning to it to save them from going under. Finally, after it has been proven to produce abundance, we will see the established businesses reluctantly turn to it. The reluctance will come from those who wish to hold onto their power over others.
The power to fill key positions in the Molecular Business will be reversed. Instead of having this power vested from the top downwards, it shall be given from the bottom upwards and shall be applied through a democratic system.
Let us say that company ABC is a Molecular Business and we are examining their first-level managers. (By first level we mean the lowest order of managers.) These are not selected by second-level managers, as is usually the case. Instead, they are elected by the employees they supervise. A company executive may make a suggestion, or nominate a prospective manager, but he or she does not choose who will fill the position.
Giving subordinates power to select their leaders, eliminates, in one master stroke, some of the major problems found in the business world. It neutralizes the Peter Principle which accurately tells us that, in the business world of today, each employee eventually reaches his highest level of incompetence then then just stays there.
What this Peter Principle tells us about today’s business is this: That workers continue to be promoted as long as they are doing well and are happy in their work, but as soon as they are given work that they cannot handle, or where they are incompetent, the promotions cease. They are not demoted back to jobs they can do well for two reasons: First it would hurt the poor guy’s ego to go backwards and take a lower-paying job; secondly, superiors would have to admit they made a mistake in the promotion. An authority, with dictatorship power, resists admitting error at all costs.
What therefore happens again and again is that employee after employee reaches their level of incompetence and stays there. We can look around us and see that every established company has a very high percentage of its management incompetent, and usually unhappy, at their jobs.
On one side of the coin this is funny, especially when we hear weird stories about dumb decisions and mistakes made by bureaucrats. We read the Dilbert comic strip and watch movies like Patch Adams, Dirty Harry, Rambo, Die Hard, or Good Morning Vietnam and laugh at the incompetency of the bosses and then squirm at how they do everything in their power to get in the way of the real hero. I liked Bruce Willis’ line to an incompetent police executive during a crisis in Die Hard: “You’re not a part of the solution, pal, you’re a part of the problem.”
These incompetents would be funny if they would restrict themselves to the movie world, but, as any person who is in contact with a hierarchical organization can testify, they are everywhere, affecting us, afraid to make progressive decisions, slowing us down and interfering with our standard of living, peace and happiness. When we are affected individually, it is no longer funny. It is sad. Something should be done about it.
A simple democratic process applied in the business world will automatically ensure that the incompetents are weeded out. Let us look at an example of how this selection process works in a Molecular Business in filling a vacancy for a manager over twelve workers.:
Unlike the businesses of today the Molecular Business does not wait around for a decree from an executive as to who will fill a vacant position. The position is open to anyone. Any one of the workers in a supervised group (let us say there are twelve) may either volunteer themselves or nominate another. In addition to this, a worker from another department may also volunteer or be nominated. After all the candidates have stepped forward, then the twelve will hold an election. When one candidate receives more that 50% of the votes then this person becomes the new manager.
Each elected manager has to receive a majority of votes from his or her department to become elected. What happens if four are running and A gets 4 votes, B 4 votes, C 3 votes and D 1 vote? In this case no one received the majority. The solution is quite simple: They select the two with the highest votes, which were A and B, and then vote again. The one with the majority vote will win, unless there was a tie. In case of a tie the winner is picked by the next manager above them in authority.
One may justifiably ask the following question: What if the group was deceived into thinking that they chose a good manager and later found out this individual was an incompetent? Are they stuck with their bad choice?
No. The Molecular Business recognizes that no choice is infallible, and there will be many times that the first selection will not be the best possible. Only actual performance on the job can determine the qualifications of a leader. Promotions are filled by people who have potential to do the job, but have not yet proven themselves so mistakes are to be expected. Fortunately, the Molecular Business makes provisions for the correction of those mistakes whereas the orthodox business is crippled by them.
Anytime one of the subordinates feel they can do a better job than their superiors, they may challenge them for their position and call for a vote. The challenge will be accepted and a vote will be held by secret ballot presided over by one of the workers in the group. It is advisable that candidates not know who voted against them. Nevertheless, this is not a black and white rule. If the Company or a division thereof wants to have open voting, that also should be their choice.
All workers should be made aware of the voting outcome. If managers know they obtained their position by a majority of only one vote, they may try extra hard to do the job and keep their subordinates happy so a new challenger will not be able to replace him.
If challengers are defeated then they must wait a designated period of time, such as ninety days before they can issue a new challenge; otherwise managers may be in danger of harassment and distraction from their jobs.
When the aspiring managers are voted in, they will trade places with the current managers. The first line employees then become managers and the managers become the first line employees. If the now-replaced managers believe they have been unjustly treated, they can (after a period of ninety days) challenge the group for their old positions or apply for transfers to other departments of the Company.
It’s always possible that the former manager, and the person who replaces him, are both competent managers. Their working group may just be fortunate enough to have two high-quality individuals to choose from who are qualified to be managers. In this case, the former manager can seek a transfer to another group that lacks leadership and can then challenge the manager there if desired. In the Molecular Business, anyone who has talent should not have to let it go to waste.
If the new first-level managers are a people of ability and talent, they may soon discover that they are more capable than the second level individuals above them. As they sense this and prove themselves competent as first-level managers, then they may challenge those above them in hope of advancing another step.
If they succeed at this, then they may later challenge the third-level managers. Their only limitation is that they can only move up one level at a time. They will find that, just as water reaches its own level, so does intelligence reach its correct level in the Molecular Business. If they can prove themselves qualified to lead the whole company, then there is nothing holding anyone back from assuming that position within a short period of time.
In the Molecular Business no one in the company can relax in the easy chair of authority and be callous and indifferent to the needs of subordinates. All leaders will find that they will have to be concerned for those under them or they will be replaced by others who will be.
All job positions in the Molecular Business are offered first to those who want to apply for them. An appointment will only be made when there is no volunteer available.
Workers may want to transfer to different areas of the company. They should not be denied this choice. They are always free to apply for a transfer, and as long as there is an opening, and other groups can accept them by a majority vote, they will be allowed to make the move. If word has it that they are troublemakers and is not accepted into a new group then they will have to stay where they were initially.
In the standard business of today there is intelligence seeking its correct level, but there are many blocks to achievement. Once in a while, a high position is filled by a competent one, but the person probably had to spend most of one’s life getting there. Perhaps the employee could have done an even better job twenty years ago when he or she had more energy, but that energy was suppressed a great deal to please please superiors and move ahead.
Often competent, intelligent people encounter too many obstacles, too much resistance, and make too many people feel threatened. They often wind up breaking away and becoming an entrepreneur, forming some enterprise of their own, even if it means taking a high risk and living on a shoestring. Some of the most intelligent people demand freedom for themselves above financial security.
The Molecular Business supplies financial stability as well as freedom. We shall explain the financial aspect later, but from what we have discussed so far, we can see that freedom is a prime virtue of this order.
In the authoritarian business of today the employee does not have complete freedom of speech, as we mentioned earlier. The employee has to support the boss no matter how much in error is made. Those who speak up are always in danger of losing their jobs.
Not so in the Molecular Business. Here, it is the other way around. The manager is the servant and must try to please the employees. The employee has full power to speak one’s mind without fear of reprisal, for the manager does not have power to fire an employee without the support of the fellow workers.
This principle gives the workers of the world freedom of speech at last. And is it not logical that we should have freedom of speech in that area of life wherein we speak the most – our jobs?
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