Richard's Rants

Category: Editorial

Richard Winfield - editor I have been tempted for some years to launch a private blog entitled 'Richard's Rants' where I could express my frustrations with life without appearing negative to my clients.

However, I have a couple of rants that demonstrate lessons for my readers.

When listening to Dave Buck on several occasions I have been introduced to the concept of a meme. According to Wikipedia, a meme is a unit of cultural information which can propagate from one mind to another in a manner analogous to genes (i.e., the units of genetic information).

Examples of memes include tunes, catch-phrases, beliefs, clothes fashions, ways of making pots, or of building arches. The idea of memes has proved a successful meme in its own right, gaining a degree of penetration into popular culture which relatively few modern scientific theories achieve.

Proponents of memes suggest that memes evolve via natural selection on the premise that variation, mutation, competition, and "inheritance" influence their replicative success. For example, while one idea may become extinct, other ideas will survive, spread, and mutate – for better or for worse – through modification.

Meme theorists contend that memes most beneficial to their hosts will not necessarily survive; rather, those memes which replicate the most effectively spread best; which allows for the possibility that successful memes might prove detrimental to their hosts.

I would like to give two examples of memes that, to my mind, are detrimental to their hosts.

The first, that has become extremely common in Britain, is the greeting by shop assistants of "Are you alright there?" Apart from its slovenly structure, it seems to me to be a completely pointless question that leads nowhere. I first encountered is at a fish counter, where I had been waiting for some time without attention. When the sales assistant eventually drifted up and asked me this question my natural response would have been to say. "No I am not, but I might be if I received some attention." I bit my tongue!

I have been playing with this recently, and answer "Yes". Then maintain eye contact and wait in the ensuring silence. If they do not respond I say "What did you really want to know?" The answer then is either "Can I help you?" or "Do you need any help?" Recently, when I asked the next obvious question "Then why did you not ask me that question?" I got this response "We are not allowed to, because you might answer "No"." Apparently this sales assistant's employer believes that the natural response to "Are you alright there?" is the outbreak of a general discussion of one's health, the weather and the ways of the world that will lead to formation of a deep personal relationship and a sale!

However, any closed question invites one of only two responses: "Yes" or "No" – or rather "Yes please" or No thank you" – and "Are you alright there?" is a closed question. Further, it is legitimate for customers who want to be left alone to establish the fact with the minimum of effort. Others will wish to ask for help and will probaly search out an assistant. Others will be dithering and these are the ones for whom a soft approach is needed.

Cashiers at Tesco supermarkets normally ask "Are you OK with the packing?" which I interpret as "This is old geezer looks so incompetent that he probably can't manage to put simple items into a carrier bag." As a result I find the question offensive. Last week when making my purchases the young man on the till asked "Would you like any help with the packing?" Which is completely different – it is a kind offer. I congratulated him and, when I explained my reaction to the normal question, he said that he was embarrassed to use the standard words.

So, not only is there a difference between closed and open questions, there is a difference between an interrogation and an offer.

Another meme that I first came across a few years ago on our local railway but I notice has now spread to internal airline flights in America is reference in announcements to passengers as 'customers'. I understand the importance of teaching staff about customer supplier relationships and so on. But, in this context, a customer is someone who purchases. I am a customer at the booking office but, once I have boarded the train or plane, I become a passenger; no longer someone to be sold to but someone in the stewardship of the company's care. The Disney organisation is very specific about referring to its visitors as 'guests' in order to ensure that all staff understand the relationship and behave accordingly.

I have heard it said that 90% of management fads fail. The reason is that what remain good ideas are applied by people who have not taken the trouble to understand the real theory and who apply them blindly. So, next time you are hit by a meme, think whether it would be beneficial or detrimental to you, and by your natural selection you can influence the evolution of an idea sweeping the world.

As a postscript, misuse of language has its entertaining potential. There is an announcement on a lamp post next to a large building near my office that the owners have applied for planning permission for 'duel use'. There is a an area of open space nearby so I am expecting an outbreak of 'pistols at dawn'.

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Richard Winfield is founder of Brefi Group.

He helps entrepreneurs build businesses

and coaches directors and boards in transition:

new and potential directors, effective boards,

mergers and acquisitions, corporate retreats,

change programmes.