How to influence men : the use of psychology in business / by Edgar James Swift.

  • Swift, Edgar James, 1860-1932.
Date:
1927
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: How to influence men : the use of psychology in business / by Edgar James Swift. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    “Whether we act in a body or individually/’ he said, “such is the infirmity and selfishness of human nature, that we often surrender to importunity that which we re- fuse to the dictates of gratitude—yielding, for our com- fort, to the demands of turbulence, while quiet, unpre- tending merit is overlooked, until, roused by neglect, it demands as a right what policy alone should have granted.” Secondly, as we have said, man is afraid that his au- thority will not be recognized. He is solicitous about his dignity. Man easily becomes intoxicated ^vith power. It goes to his head. Appreciation of the good judgment of those who in their wisdom chose him for their manager is written all over the face of some men whose selection per- haps was due to social prestige or to seniority. Then, too, one in a position of authority does not like to admit that he has made a mistake. This is particularly true of those who have the appearance of greatness, but lack its elements. Such men have a submerged feeling of inadequacy. They do not admit their inability even to themselves, but they are always playing safe, always pro- tecting themselves, always camouflaging with protective coloration. Consequently, when anything goes wrong these men blame some subordinate. This is one phase of their pro- tective behavior. To admit that they were at fault would indicate that they were fallible, and a weak man fears to make this admission. Such a manager gets the reputation among his subordinates of shirking responsibility, of pre- tending wisdom that he does not possess. Finally, as a result, he loses the respect of those under him. The truth in the saying that no man is great to his valet is not due so much to the mistakes which men make as to the attempts to conceal them. No one, not even a valet, expects a man to be faultless. But the assumption that others do not see these errors is amusing, and humor, under such conditions, leads quickly to ridicule. A real executive readily assumes responsibility for errors;