There are two types of people in the world. Rule followers and rule breakers.
Rule followers, true to their name, keep and obey the commandments of authority. They fill out every section on government forms. They get anxious if they don't know what box to check.
Rule breakers go out of their way to break the rules. A rule breaker checks all the boxes on the form just to see what happens.
Rule followers make sure the system works. Rule breakers make new systems.
My wife is a rule follower (right now she is having an anxious reaction to my use of the word "what" instead of "which" in the second paragraph). I used to be a rule follower.
The military is built on rule following. Well, expect for the rule that special forces guys get to make up their own rules. But by making the "do whatever you want rule" there are still rules, that's how it works. The best part is that the rules for doing something like fixing a truck don't change much between Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas. Task stability can be good. The dark side of rules is that the systems we built for dealing with people, especially foreigners, are not universal. We built a lot of rules for dealing with NATO or Russia. And those rules don't work with Pashtuns or with Iraqis. There is a time to be a rule follower. But you gotta know when to switch.
As a recovering rule follower (I relapse frequently...), this will be a tough deployment for me. I like having "the code" or a boss to tell me what to do. There's no bosses where I am going. I can't wait.
Are you a rule follower or a rule breaker? How do you deal with "the other half" of the world?
Rule followers, true to their name, keep and obey the commandments of authority. They fill out every section on government forms. They get anxious if they don't know what box to check.
Rule breakers go out of their way to break the rules. A rule breaker checks all the boxes on the form just to see what happens.
Rule followers make sure the system works. Rule breakers make new systems.
My wife is a rule follower (right now she is having an anxious reaction to my use of the word "what" instead of "which" in the second paragraph). I used to be a rule follower.
The military is built on rule following. Well, expect for the rule that special forces guys get to make up their own rules. But by making the "do whatever you want rule" there are still rules, that's how it works. The best part is that the rules for doing something like fixing a truck don't change much between Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas. Task stability can be good. The dark side of rules is that the systems we built for dealing with people, especially foreigners, are not universal. We built a lot of rules for dealing with NATO or Russia. And those rules don't work with Pashtuns or with Iraqis. There is a time to be a rule follower. But you gotta know when to switch.
As a recovering rule follower (I relapse frequently...), this will be a tough deployment for me. I like having "the code" or a boss to tell me what to do. There's no bosses where I am going. I can't wait.
Are you a rule follower or a rule breaker? How do you deal with "the other half" of the world?
Hi Philip - I don't have anything witty to say, or a good answer to your questions, but since Blogger finally is letting me make comments tonight, I have to do it en masse while I can.
ReplyDeleteLet's see, what question did you ask - or which question should I answer? I'm a rule follower. (But I don't know the grammar rule for what and which - or Who and Whom).