In 1519, Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conqueror, reached the coast of Mexico from Cuba. He immediately declared Mexico as Spanish colony and himself the ruler. Then he destroyed all his ships so that no one, including himself, could get out of the country. In economy, Cortes’s decision is not sensible. Why should he destroy the possibility of getting out and make himself imprisoned from the beginning? Why should he destroy the alternatives? One important principle in economy is “the more options, the better” so why did Cortes give up his freedom of choosing from different options?
Once or twice a year I meet the CEO of an important international company in a meeting. I wonder why he always refuses to eat dessert. It used to seem nonsense to me. Why should someone refuse this delicious thing out of beliefs? Why doesn’t he choose for each occasion separately? Why doesn’t he choose regarding his weight? Why doesn’t he decide based on the main course or the dessert?
Refusing to eat dessert is not as strange as refusing to get back to your country, but both of them look unnecessary at first.
Clayton Christensen is one of the most prominent management experts in the world and Harvard university professor who manages his life based on his unbreakable vows.
He met a lot of managers in his youth who devoted their lives to work hard for the first half in the hope of the second half to be assigned to family, not to mention that their family lives would end before that time! So, he made his vow: no work on weekends!… and he obliged himself to family dinners during the week. Occasionally, this vow made him start working at 3 AM.
First time I heard about this decision from Christensen, I found it was not sensible, non-economic and stubborn. Now I have a different point of view, when it comes to important subjects, flexibility is not an advantage, it’s a trick. All these three managers use inflexibility for long term goals. If they were more flexible, reaching these goals was impossible for two reasons:
- If you “constantly” have to make decisions depending on the situation, it may weaken your will. It’s called decision fatigue. When you vow for something, you no longer have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of your choices every time. Your decisions are made and you no longer need to occupy your mind or waste your time.
- This reason is related to people’s reliability. You make your position clear and show your limitations.
Say goodbye to flexibility. It makes you tired and destroys your motivation. Make yourself committed to your vows. It is easier to be committed to your vows totally than occasionally.
This article is based on the book the Art of the Good Life by Rolf Dobelli
