September 6, 2009Lucy’s football, metaphors and expectations management
There’s something about metaphors and analogies that clarify perceptions and ideas. My husband uses them in his heath care practice, with illustrations like, “taking too little of a supplement and then claiming it doesn’t work is like pouring a glass of water on a forest fire and blaming the water for not working.” Makes the point, doesn’t it?
My friend and I created a metaphor about relying on people who don’t have good follow-through. We say it’s like Lucy’s football. She would hold the football for Charlie Brown, he’d gear up to kick it, and she’d pull the football.
We did adapt the metaphor a bit. Lucy was malicious in her antics. The people who leave us hanging aren’t malicious, they’re distracted. But you know what? The end result is the same. After landing on our behinds trying to kick a ball that wasn’t there, we become hesitant in our approach. We always wonder whether the ball will be there when we land our kick.
It’s called expectations management. Since people base their action on what we lead them to believe we will do, it’s important that we create accurate expectations. Some auditors tell me their motto is to say what they’ll do and to do what they say. Their word is their bond. Funny, isn’t it, that doing that is enough of a rarity that it makes them stand out in a crowd? We need fewer Lucys and more good expectation managers.
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