Well, it’s been a frantic few weeks in global politics! We can’t move for people breaking the rules.
The Supreme Court in the US ruled that President Donald Trump’s tariffs were illegal. The day before, the former Prince Andrew was arrested on suspicion of breaking the rules while serving as a Trade Envoy.
And the day before that, the Canadian curling team was accused of cheating during a game at the Winter Olympics. It rather looks like rule-breaking is ‘on trend’at the moment - except it’s not!
Breaking the rules is commonplace and has been around forever. Indeed, the Royal Mint recently revealed that it was celebrating one of the world’s most famous rule-breakers with a special new coin. In recognition of his 75 years of rule-breaking success, the new coin honours “Dennis the Menace”. That naughty boy has been in the Beano comic since 1951 and is still entertaining children today.
Dennis is a ‘loveable rogue’ who falls into the category of rule-breakers we don’t mind. Yet he still breaks rules, just like President Trump and, allegedly, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. We clearly forgive some people who break the rules; however, we want others punished.
In your business, as in mine, some people break the rules and seem to get away with it. In contrast, others do something wrong and get hung out to dry over it. The issue is, why are we so inconsistent?
In the past, studies have shown that we allow people to break the rules when we perceive their behaviour as prosocial or moral, as in the case of Rosa Parks. If we think rule-breaking is for the greater good of our friends or colleagues, we do not mind it. We also tend to forgive rule-breakers if their behaviour is seen as creative, as in the case of entrepreneurs. In other words, we don’t mind people breaking the rules if there is something in what they do ‘for us’.
However, the tables get quickly turned when we think the rule-breaker is in it for themselves. As soon as we think the person breaking the rules is doing so to exert power or does so from a position of arrogance or entitlement, we get cross - think ex-Royals or Presidents here.
We want such people punished as an example. However, research from Germany shows that we tend to punish people closer to us more harshly than those in distant relationships. We judge those in our immediate circle more harshly because their behaviour reflects on us. No matter how much you might want to punish a transgressing ex-Prince, his family would want him hit harder.
Here is the problem for us in business. We allow some people to break the rules because it seems there is some benefit for the office. We let others do wrong because “everybody knows” they are creative. But then, when someone does not fall into these categories, we want them punished and publicly shamed, especially if they are on our staff and not at some remote office where we hardly know anyone.
It is this inconsistency that leads to conflict at work.
It also leads to perceptions of unfairness, thereby reducing trust in management. When staff cannot predict how rule-breaking will be treated, they become cautious and defensive.
The solution is surprisingly straightforward and offers a spin-off benefit in terms of job satisfaction and resulting loyalty to the business.
Research at a Japanese bank found that when you give your staff a variety of tasks, they are more likely to follow the rules. This implies that job boredom and repetitiveness are key triggers in rule-breaking.
Perhaps you should not be so tough on your employees, particularly those close to you, when they bend the rules. Rather, you should look at the way you have designed their jobs. When was the last time you redesigned a role rather than reprimanded a person?
Falling in and out of love
Valentine's Day has come and gone for another year; however, over in the US, it appears that people are falling out of love with celebrating today.
The National Retail Federation’s ‘Valentine’s Day Data Centre’ shows that fewer people planned to buy gifts today than in previous years. Worse still, they aim to spend less when inflation is considered.
Over the past 20 years, the share of people who have celebrated Valentine’s Day has fallen from 63 per cent to 55 per cent. That’s not good news for jewellers!
Part of the reason for falling out of love with Valentine’s gifting is that we have ‘commercialisation fatigue’. Consumers are simply fed up with the constant advertising for chocolates and flowers. Of course, there is the cost-of-living crisis to consider as well.
Additionally, there are significant demographic shifts, with more people living alone than before and a rise in the number of people still living with their parents into their mid-30s. That makes it tough to be romantic.
According to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, love depends on three things. These are passion, closeness and commitment derived from Sternberg’s Theory of Love.
It’s hard to be close and passionate when your mum and dad are sitting opposite. And if you are living alone, closeness to others is not easy either. Solving such problems involves costs, such as booking a hotel room.
That’s tough when financial pressures are high. So, it is hardly surprising that fewer people want to celebrate romance than they did 20 years ago.
Interestingly, though, people are increasingly celebrating their love for the products and brands they admire. Social media is full of people declaring their love for a brand.
Indeed, 94 per cent of us say something positive about our favourite brands on social media. Just try stopping an iPhone user from uploading an image of their device to some social network.
You do not have to go far in your journey on social media before you bump into someone telling you about the latest product they have fallen in love with.
In a recent study, YouGov investigated the Top 50 Brands across 28 global markets. This research showed that the brand the world loves the most is WhatsApp. Yet in the US, it does not even feature in the list.
That’s because even though the rest of the world loves WhatsApp, the vast majority of people in the US regularly use Apple iMessage instead. You might notice a “love factor” from that Norwegian research here - closeness.
The brands people are closest to are the ones they love most. Here in the UK, for example, the most loved brand is Marks & Spencer. You can’t move for M&S in garages and service stations up and down the land.
Most of us are never far away from M&S - closeness again. But closeness is not just physical. It is a habitual presence in daily life.
There’s another of those three love factors in play again here -commitment. Repeated use of WhatsApp or Apple iMessage, for example, shows a commitment to the brand. No wonder you love it. Equally, the convenience of M&S or that Amazon app, for example, means you gain commitment and thereby start to fall in love with the brand.
That only leaves passion. You are probably not passionate about an M&S egg, tomato, and salad cream sandwich, even though it is tasty. But you cannot mistake M&S’s passion for food.
It helps build the “romance” and confirms your commitment to the company.
The question, therefore, is what you can do in your business to demonstrate you love your customers. First, show some passion for your company and its products and services. None of your customers will fall in love with your business if you don’t show them you are enthusiastic about what you do.
Secondly, get closer to your customers. Never miss an opportunity to meet, talk to, or engage with them. Third, demonstrate your commitment to them.
You can do this with exemplary customer service, for example. In “business speak,” this means passion is your internal culture. Closeness is your distribution and engagement strategy. Commitment is about service reliability and trust-building.
If you are among the majority and do not celebrate Valentine’s Day by showering your loved one with chocolates and flowers, you could use the occasion to start a new romance instead.
Be passionate about what you do, get closer to your customers, and show them you are committed to them. Before long, you will have something far more valuable than Valentine’s flowers: customers who choose you repeatedly.
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