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The costs of the unconsidered

When decisions are made, in the slipstream swirl known and unknown consequences into advantages and disadvantages. Any measures that grant one-sided advantages to a few beneficiaries let cry out loud the self-appointed partisans from all corners of society. To what extent the disadvantages of the huge rotor blades of a wind power plant are more harmful than the MCA (Maximum Credible Accident) of a nuclear power plant seems to be in the eye of the beholder. Or is it more about the windmills that spoil the vista of some individual residents? People have been using windmills for over four thousand years. In the 16th century, there were documented 10,000 windmills in the Netherlands, and at the beginning of the twentieth century, over 18,000 in Prussia. Where would we be today, if the citizens at the time had opposed technological advances as the zealots of various faiths do today?

Current types of Luddites can be found in all age groups, political parties, and social classes. They got used to rate the world from their polarizing point of view. Usually, only the pros and cons of the desired outcomes are thought through. We need to neutrally expand the radius of our observation radar when making choices – regardless of the interests of the beneficiaries.

  1. Involve deciders in all impacts
    Decisions lead to advantageous and disadvantageous consequences. If the decision-makers do not admit the disadvantages that arise, then criteria that have nothing to do with the matter move to the center. The bases of the decision change substantially if the deciders also go along with the burdening effects.
  2. Consider all consequences
    The most significant bias in decision-making is caused by a limited view of one’s advantages. In addition, recognized disadvantages are belittled. When assessing, the fading out of collateral consequences, in particular, distorts the broad perspective. Therefore, several scenarios must be developed that equally consider ALL opportunities and risks: the two sides of doing and not doing.
  3. Charge the total costs of resistance
    The follow-up costs of actions should be distributed among all those affected. This means that proponents AND opponents contribute to the charges. Depending on the on-site density of wind turbines, the price of electricity could be set as low as zero or multiplied if there is local resistance. It is up to everyone to decide whether to vaccinate. However, opponents of vaccination must expect disadvantages in the feared triage – to be relegated to the back of the queue according to the lack of contribution to society. With such burdens, the resisters receive additional criteria that they can consider in their resistance.
  4. Decide independently of who shouts the loudest
    Unfairly, those who shout the loudest tend to win the argument – self-absorbed politicians, demonstrators, and lobbyists. Fake news and propaganda create an additional flood of data that blurs the objective overview. Non-profit decisions should serve society, not personal interests. A typical example in politics is the intention to preserve jobs. With this argument, employees today receive lower pay, and what used to be mandatory employment is replaced by temporary contracts. Expanding precarious jobs leads to increased gains for corps and their functionaries – and politicians get their re-election sponsored.
  5. For a common future with community spirit
    When the results are no longer contaminated by personal motives, more objective and faster decision-making gets facilitated. For this, all participants need a sense of community that weighs the alternatives in the interest of the whole. The advantages and disadvantages of doing AND not doing and the indirect effects in adjacent areas must be considered.

Bottom line: The community benefits from results that generate advantages for society instead for a few. This is possible by considering all perspectives. Calculating the outcome as low as possible leads to delayed disadvantages. Furthermore, the effects of doing nothing and the pros and cons of the affected area must be considered. What surplus is created by the additional power sources of a new wind farm? What loss? What are the benefits of no wind parc? What are the cons? Which areas are additionally affected positively and negatively? No matter how you decide, those affected should be involved – directly or indirectly. Taking all effects into account reduces the follow-up costs. The individual parties pay their share of the total costs of their intentions in the way they gain. Deciding according to who shouts the most ignores relevant influences and reduces the intended benefit. Only with community spirit desirable prospects for all are open to society. Luddites who threaten this future must be held accountable for their acts. Angry citizens, opportunists, lobbyists, economic deciders, conspirators, and other ostracized extremists must bear the resulting costs of the unconsidered.

Isolating energy hijackers

In business you are repeatedly exposed to energy hijackers, who exploit our zest for action to their own advantage. It’s hard to escape. They impose themselves and thoughtlessly occupy seemingly free capacities and are incapable of noticing when they cross existing borders. Often these are those, who see the glass half-empty, constantly criticize, are in love with themselves and suffer from hubris. They steadily complain, mostly about others, moan about their problems, tell negative stories, spread displeasure and create insecurity. They have perfected their talent to exploit others unsuspectingly and without consideration, and feel confirmed by the apparent successes they achieve. They contaminate groups of all kinds and poison everyday life. But how can one push these energy hijackers to the sidelines so that the momentum for the important tasks remains intact?

The difficulty is that the energy hijackers are noticed, when it is almost too late. It requires attentiveness in order to recognize the attempts to influence and to be able to react appropriately. Potential clues are:

  • Continuous stress generation due to excessive requirements and appointments of blame
  • Lack of appreciation through unbalanced criticism – constant focus on weaknesses
  • Imbalanced win-win due to one-sided exploitation of cooperation
  • Uneven exchange of information through inadequate information sharing
  • Lack of opportunities to prove oneself by consistently favoring other people
  • Wasting time with unplanned and unnecessary meetings
  • Surprising praise through compliments and positive mentioning of earlier successes, but without contributions in the here and now

The following measures protect your own vigor from exploitation.

  • Keeping distance
    The best way to stay away from the corresponding energy hijackers is to avoid occasions in which they are present – informal meetings, working groups, meetings, projects and especially semi-private events.
  • Drawing borders
    It is not always possible to keep the necessary distance. Therefore, setting clear boundaries is the last way to keep energy hijackers off your back by clearly and respectfully saying what you want, what you are ready to do or what others should refrain from doing. As soon as you let them get too close, they take merciless advantage of you.
  • Preventing appropriation
    Often the energy hijackers are not aware of what they are doing. The preparation of an appropriation does not necessarily have anything to do with the actual interest. At the latest, when the attempt becomes clear, restraint is required and, in an emergency case, a decisive “No”.
  • Rejecting responsibility
    The increasing appropriation is the explicit assignment of responsibility. It is the most normal thing in the world to take responsibility for your actions and results. However, not if it is only a matter of prophylactic assignment of guilt.
  • Doubting
    Intuitively we know trust is good. Likewise we have learned that doubt is better. Not because everything we are told is wrong, but because distortions creep into utterances – one time by mistake and another time to exploit our energy reservoirs.
  • Being self-confident
    Knowing one’s own limits and possibilities as well as the willingness to go beyond helps, if you get involved in teams. It’s always your own decision, whether you’re ready to do something or not. And most of the time there are so many things to do that something is left behind in any case – why not the energy hijackers?
  • Politely turning away
    If everything is of no use, the opportunity to escape still remains. If one notices too late the loss of momentum in favor of an energy hijacker, then is still the possibility to retreat. Every agreement is always open for cancellation – modestly, exculpating and politely.

Bottom line: The biggest productivity killers of groups are energy hijackers. These are people, who exploit others for their own advantage and thus harm the whole. They are difficult to identify, but some clues expose them – the stress they create, the lack of appreciation, the lack of win-win, etc. (see above). Depending on their personality, they are noticed sooner or later. However, once you realize that this is a person, who is exploiting you, you can defend yourself appropriately – e.g. by keeping distance, drawing borders, preventing appropriation, rejecting responsibility, etc. (see above). Even if these people give the impression that they increase the productivity of a company, they destroy it in the long run – the overall performance decreases, the motivation crashes and the energy hijackers destroy the cohesion with their manipulations. For these reasons, energy hijackers should be isolated and rendered harmless.