Marshall Goldsmith Library: Natural Law as a Change Agent Page 1 of 3

TALENT MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE

Natural Law as a Change

Agent
by Marshall Goldsmith

Barry Diller, the chairman of IAC/ InterActiveCorp, was at Harvard

Business School explaining the rationale behind the mosaic of
Web-commerce entities he has assembled at his company,
including Hotels.com, Match.com and LendingTree.com. One of
the students pointed out these various businesses didn’t seem to
come together in a coordinated, synergistic way.

Diller erupted in mock anger. He replied, “Don’t ever use that

word, ‘synergy.’ It’s a hideous word. The only thing that works is
natural law. Given enough time, natural relationships will develop
between our businesses.”

I agree. You can’t mandate synergy. You can’t manufacture

harmony, whether it’s between two people or two divisions. You
can’t order people to change their thinking or behavior.
In my last column, I explained the “natural law” of human
behavior. I’ll say it again:
People will do something, including changing their behavior, only
if it can be demonstrated that doing so is in their best interests as
defined by their own values.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, the commander of Allied forces in Europe

during World War II and 34th president of the United States, once
said, “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do
something you want done because he wants to do it.”

To get you to do what I want, I have to prove that doing so will

benefit you in some way, immediately or somewhere down the
road. Every choice, big or small, is a risk-reward decision in which
your bottom-line thinking is, “What’s in it for me?”

None of us has to apologize for this. It’s the way of the world, and
it isn’t as black and white as selfishness vs. selflessness.

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It’s the force that gets squabbling rivals to stop fighting and begin
cooperating. If you look deep enough in these situations, you’ll
find they’re not doing it out of altruism or newfound saintliness.
It’s the only way they can get what they want. You see this all the
time in politics.

It’s the force at work when people swallow their pride and admit
they were wrong. As hard as it is for many folks to do, they will if
it’s the only way to put trouble behind them and move on.

It’s the reason people will turn down better-paying jobs because
they sense the new situation will not make them happier. They’re
asking what’s in it for them and concluding they’d rather be
happier than richer.

I’ve said many times before, successful people have very few
reasons to change their behavior and lots of reasons to stick with
the status quo — or as they might say in my native Kentucky, to
“dance with what brung ‘em.”

Their success has showered them with positive reinforcement, so

they feel it’s smart to continue doing what they’ve always done.
Their past behavior confirms that their futures are equally bright:
“I did it this way before, and look how far it’s gotten me.”
Then there’s the protective shell successful people develop over
time that whispers to them, “You are right. Everyone else is
wrong.” Then there’s the arrogance, the feeling they can do
anything, that develops and bulges like a well-exercised muscle in
successful people, especially after a string of successes.

These are all heady defense mechanisms to overcome. But most

people’s resistance to change can be overcome by natural law.
Everyone, even the biggest ego in the room, has a hot button that
can be pushed, and that button is self-interest. All we have to do
is find it.
Fortunately, it’s not hard to find the button for successful people.
The motive behind their self-interest usually boils down to one of
four things: money, power, status or popularity. These are the
standard payoffs for success. The hot button is different for each
person, and it might change over time, but it’s always guided by
self-interest.

Take a look at yourself. Why are you at work? What keeps you
coming back day after day? Is it any of the big four, or is it
something deeper and more subtle that has developed over time?

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If you know what matters to you, it’s easier to commit to change.

If you can’t identify it, you won’t know when it’s being threatened
and will probably be either too erratic or languid in response.

In my experience, people only change when what they truly value

is threatened. It’s our nature. It’s the law.

Dr. Marshall Goldsmith's 24 books include "What Got You

Here Won't Get You There" - a New York Times best-seller,
Wall Street Journal #1 business book and Harold Longman
Award winner for Business Book of the Year. His latest
book "Succession: Are You Ready?" - is the newest edition
to the Harvard Business 'Memo to the CEO' series. His
personal website,
http://www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com/, contains
hundreds of his articles and videos.

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