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How Would A Trick-or-Treater View You As a Boss?

BY: admin | November 1, 2017


 

Early this morning, as I was quietly rummaging through my son’s Halloween candy haul, I began to reflect on our fun-filled (cold) night of trick-or-treating and I realized three things:

 

1. Kids know where the good candy is at.

2. Kids know exactly how much they are willing to sacrifice to get it.

3. Adults often do the same thing in the workplace.

 

Let me explain.

Candy vs. GOOD Candy – For every child this differentiation is crucial. They lean on hard-learned, past experiences to determine the most lucrative route to take on Halloween night.  Time will not be wasted on fruitless endeavors.

While the Ellis house, for example, has an eerily long and poorly-lit driveway, they also have good candy which means the Ellis house will be receiving a knock at the door this year.

Old man Brien, on the other hand, likes to jump out of bushes, striking fear into every child who comes near, only to make a hollow peace offering of wintergreen mints and peanut brittle.  Old man Brien’s house will be briskly walked past on the other side of the street.

See, just as trick-or-treaters make cost/benefit determinations with neighborhood homes, when an employee has new ideas, grievances or opinions, they often make these same determinations with their bosses.  Their willingness to knock on your door is not based on candy vs. good candy, it is based on being heard vs. being listened to. 

Look at these different types of homes a trick-or-treater may interact with and think about if your employees gauge how approachable you are in the same way:

 

The Dark House

You can see the faint glow of a television leaking through the closed curtains of a second story window, but all the other lights in the house are off.  No porch lights, no flood lights, no jack-o-lantern.  You know they are home, but they don’t seem to want any visitors.  You may knock on the door in hopes that they forgot to turn on their lights, but even if they answer, you don’t expect much in return.

 

The Foreboding House

You have no idea if this house even has candy because the owner is so frightening and intimidating.  From the terrifying stories told in school to the faint screams heard coming from within, it is clear that this house is only meant for seasoned trick-or-treating veterans, and sometimes they don’t even go near it.

 

The Stingy House

The door creaks open revealing a massive bowl of shimmering, individually wrapped candies, and then you hear the dreaded phrase, “Only one piece per child!”  Even though you realize that they didn’t have to give you anything, you can’t help but feel cheated knowing that they had four times as much as they were willing to offer.

 

The Limited Supply House

The candy here is not only good, its great. We’re talking King Size Snickers and glistening, sticky Ring Pops. Sadly, they simply don’t have enough for everybody.  If you see a line at the door, there’s a good chance there might not be anything left for you.

 

The Perfect House

The jewel of the neighborhood, every kid knows that this is the place to go.  They have a seemingly endless supply of candy, handing out huge handfuls with a contagious smile.  And the best part…not only do they not mind if you come back for seconds, they encourage it.

 


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