THE ABOMINABLE NO-MEN

Have you come across the abominable no-men ever in your life? I hope none ever does. I have had the rare fortune or rather misfortune to be in touch with such personalities on several occasions. The experience had been frustrating. I did not go mad because I managed to draw from a vast reservoir of patience, which God had blessed me with. There were times when I thought I would go crazy and unleash the fury held in check. Fortunately, it did not happen.

Who are the abominable no-men?

They are the negativists we find everywhere. Negativism must be distinguished from pessimism, defeatism or realism. Negativism has the ingrained habit of instantly saying,” It will not work” or “It cannot be done”. The action is reflex and not the outcome of reasoned deliberation.

The pessimist fixes his eye at the empty half of a half full glass of water. Defeatism stems out of diffidence in confronting a crisis. The realist rationally weighs the pros and cons to come to a conclusion. While I could manage the three kinds with ease, I had found it extremely difficult to get the better of the negativists. For, they have a mindset to deny everything to everyone. It may be that they had a very unsettled childhood where everything had been denied to them by a very unkind world around them. It must be their way of getting even with the world.

The negativist is prompt in denouncing a suggestion. He goes out of his way to ensure that no one is allowed to try out the suggestion. He blocks its progress or stalls it. He has a single motive. He wants to prove that he is right. The rights or wrongs of a given situation does not matter to him at all. He believes that he is infallible. He believes that his interpretations alone have sanctity. He has a tubular vision and expects everyone to see what he sees. He is a great manipulator. He exults in wielding power of the negative sort. He sounds very authoritative even if he is wrong. In his stentorian voice he makes mincemeat of the meek opposition, which though it knows it is right, is unable to withstand the irrepressible
Mr. Negativist. He quotes from circulars and statutes, which are at times ambiguous. He refuses to acknowledge that the ambiguity was deliberately put in place by the lawmaker. His pro employer stance makes him indispensable to the employer. For, a clever employer knows how best to get the better of the employees through a few negativists at their command. The negativist does not realize that the employer is only using him and that the moment the utility is over, he will be dropped like a hot potato.

The negativist in a work place vitiates the entire atmosphere by hampering performance. He sets the stage for personality conflicts. He stymies creativity and innovation. Professional approach to problems is anathema to him. The competitive spirit is extinguished. He cramps everybody’s style and curbs everybody’s enthusiasm. Nothing ever moves.

Imagine the chaos when the negativist holds leadership positions. Innovation and experimentation are out. There is a stumbling block to ideas and proposals. Business never prospers because even reasonable risks have no place in the rulebook, the negativist flaunts with exuberance.

How do we resolve the dilemma?

The chief can definitely help. He has to call the person and have a frank conversation helping him to see himself as others see him. The negativist has to be encouraged to cultivate a positive attitude to life, persons and situations. His associates may take the initiative themselves by holding a mirror to him. Another method is to depute the negativist to corrective training so that the defect is overcome and he becomes a better person responsive to the aspirations of the society of which he himself is an inseparable part..

Do we not see the negativist in action in the work place?

Instances are innumerable.If it is financial institution, there is the poor borrower requesting for an enhancement, which never takes place. There is the depositor who has to wait endlessly to encash his own cheque. There are the hapless dependents of the diseased constituents who are forced to wait pretty long for the settlement. There is the clerk from a Government office who is ridiculed and turned away for daring to seek a vehicle loan because he happens to be a clerk. There is the depositor who has no idea when he will receive his ATM card for which he has put in his application months earlier. If we care to take a look at any Government Office the scenario will be no different.

Then we have the specialists, the passive negativists. They always mean well. They often promise the moon. But they refrain from action. They climb up the ladder doing nothing. They know very well that they will be caught napping if only they initiate action of any sort. They manage without ever affixing their signature anywhere. They ensure that they remain non-controversial. They will always say ‘yes’ when they mean ‘no’. Hypocrisy pays. The agenda is simple, completion of the tenure never harming the interests of the self. Performance is for mere mortals.

Apart from all these, what happens to countless requests from their own brethren?
The wheels grind very slow. Genuine requests are attended to at a lazy pace. Whatever is possible takes a very long time to happen. Whatever is not possible is not conveyed at once. Queries are raised for the sake of queries alone knowing fully well the decision will never be in the affirmative. Even verdicts from the court are ignored and casually dealt with, denying justice. Experience tells that it is not the people in command who are the pain in the neck. The people down the line are creating hell though they are at liberty to create heaven. Many are the occasions when notes go up highlighting all the negative features with a cursory glance at the positive. The intention of the one who puts up the note is crystal clear. He hates his own brethren for disturbing his peace and wishes to teach them the lesson of their life. Faced with the rubbish heap of nonsense before them the men at the summit are helpless. How can they take care of the needy when those who could have taken care are wielding the sword with a vengeance and have a score to settle? No one dares to revolt. The confidential reports take care of that. And if they do not do that there are always means to destroy those who dare to differ from the conventional. The negativists survive forever with impunity.

Negativism is akin to cancer. It not only debilitates, but also destroys the spirit. The abominable no-men in our midst have to be shown the door in case they refuse to mend. The world will become a better place when we finally manage to rid them from our midst. The earlier we do that the better for us and the better for the interests of the society at large.
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