“Getting Things Done Through People Who Do Not Care”

Be unstoppable! You had it right when you were a baby, before the world taught you that persistence is pesky. Learn from a baby. A baby does not stop crying until her need is met.

Is there a step by step process? Again, success is not guaranteed, but you can greatly increase your probability of success. Here are five ways to achieve through people who don’t care:

1. Identify them. Don’t deceive yourself about who they are. You can identify them by their reactions to your requests. A good reaction will sound like this, “… we don’t know how, but are willing to figure it out. What do we need to do?” On the other hand, apathy sounds like this, “…our process prevents us.” If you get a response like that, ask them to put that in writing. That forces them to document their own inability. There are people who don’t care if you ever get what you want. Be honest with yourself about who they are. Move them from your life if you must.

2. Give them an opportunity to learn and to develop passion. In the case of someone who works with you or for you, give them an opportunity to be mentored. No one ever cared about them, so they don’t care about others. It is all that was ever modeled for them. Bureaucracies and middle management of large organizations everywhere are packed with people who are masters at adaptation but not achievement. Teach them how to respond to you.

3. Discern their level of competence. Maybe they can’t actually perform. Maybe they don’t know how. Something may be easy for you but that does not mean it is easy for others. Maybe they have never been trained. If not, accept that. Accept their limitations. It is hard to get someone to rise above the limitations they think they have. Sometimes it takes an incremental approach.

4. Search for the replacement. You do not have to keep everyone in your life. Some people are seasonal. Identify them. If someone keeps doing it wrong, look for someone who will do it right.

5. Recognize and reward those who do care. Don’t get so busy with the squeaky wheel that you forget those who do care. There are some who want to do everything they can to be a part of your dream. You did not get here alone. There are people who love you but can’t say it. There are people in your life who care about your goal and never told you. There are people who support you always but don’t tell you. That’s right. There are people who believe in you, fight for you, and lay awake at nights thinking of ways to help you. There are people in the world who consider you valuable. Don’t forget them! Don’t take them for granted. Don’t get your eyes off of them and onto those who don’t care. Reward them with words, time, access, notes or gifts. There are people working for you that you don’t know about, doing things that you do not see. Take a look at those who have brought you to where you are. Thank them. Reward those who have invested in your life.