The illusion of control

 

Barry Ashmore, MD and co-founder of StreetwiseSubbie.com, talks to us about how to stay in control of payments.

Are you the man with the red hat?

I’ve been catching up on some reading recently and wanted to share some topical insight I picked up from best-seller, ‘The Art of Thinking Clearly’ by Rolf Dobelli.

Chapter 17 is entitled ‘You control less than you think’ and it discusses the ‘illusion of control’, something that really resonates with me as a former sub-contractor and business owner.

The author opens the chapter by telling us about a man with a red hat who stands in a square at 9am every day waving his cap wildly in the air. One day, a policeman approaches the man and asks him what he is doing. The man’s reply? “I’m keeping the giraffes away.” “But there aren’t any giraffes,” replies the policeman. “Well I must be doing a good job then,” comes the reply.

Another analogy Dobelli uses to illustrate our ‘illusion of control’ is the fact that in casinos most people throw a dice as hard as they can if they need a high number and as delicately as possible if they need a low number. What nonsense! He compares this to football fans believing they can swing the result of the game by gesticulating at the TV – come on now, we’ve all been there!

This shared illusion that we can somehow influence the world by sending out the ‘right’ thoughts, positive energy or that karma actually exists is essentially a basic human instinct. States Dobelli: “The illusion of control is the tendency to believe that we can influence something over which we have absolutely no sway” and was discovered in 1965 by two researchers, Jenkins and Ward, who carried out a simple experiment involving two switches and a light. The men could adjust when the switches connected to the light and when they didn’t. Even when the light randomly flashed on and then off the subjects were convinced they could influence it by using the switches.

Do you approach your contracts like those experiment subjects? Do you feel that you are in control of how your various construction projects are progressing? Do you feel you have a tangible influence on the whole decision making process? Chances are you have very little under your control simply because that is the way our industry operates and has always operated.

I’ve talked time and again about how specialist contractors bear the brunt when a project gets out of control or if something goes wrong. It’s usually the default setting of the main contractor to lay the blame at the subbie’s door and when that happens it’s a sure sign that everything is spiraling out of control.

It’s the same when it comes to the spectre of late or non-payment. The ‘illusion of control’ is particularly strong here: maybe if you are the client or the client’s representative, (particularly on public sector projects), you think that paying the main contractor on time means everyone gets paid on time.

If you are a specialist contractor however, the fact that you entered into a contract in good faith, you’ve done everything expected of you (and often even more!), you checked all the small print but there’s still a delay. So why?

It seems like it’s out of your control. Or is it?

Dobelli closes the chapter by asking the reader: “Do you have everything under control?” and concludes that, most of us are just like the man in the red hat.

But, when it comes to payment, ensuring that you are in control is easier than you might think. You can stay in control simply by focusing on the few things that are actually important and you can influence.

For example, by being very clear about, and understanding the terms and conditions you will be working under before you enter into the contract. Don’t be led astray or distracted by things that aren’t relevant to you or your business. Make a list of what is key for you and ensure you can positively influence these things. If you can’t, maybe it’s not a project or contract you should even entertain entering into. Turning down new business is very difficult, I accept that, but remember, one bad contract could take down your entire business!

Dobelli’s advice when it comes to the ‘illusion of control’, and mine too for that matter: concentrate on what’s important and make sure you control it. Don’t be the man with the red hat!

And as for everything else? Dobelli puts it so eloquently: que sera, sera.

 

Barry Ashmore is MD and co-founder of StreetwiseSubbie.com which provides business solutions for Specialist Contractors throughout the UK.

 

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