What the Cocks Want?

 

There is a fable about “The Cock and the Jewel” that goes like this,

A Cock, scratching the ground for something to eat, turned up a Jewel that had by chance been dropped there. "Ho!" said he, "a fine thing you are, no doubt, and, had your owner found you, great would his joy have been. But for me, give me a single grain of corn before all the jewels in the world."

In short, it says that the cock pays no attention to anything that it perceives of no immediate value. Just like what Marie de France has commented that the cock is like those who, 'if everything does not go as they wish, they do not value good and honor at all but instead take the worst and scorn the best.' Some would reckon the cock as being pragmatic to base its value on what it actually needs. Others would argue that the cock is too myopic and unable to appreciate the value of things beyond its limited knowledge.

I am sure you have bumped into some cocks in your projects big or small, local or global. They questioned you on your purpose of dragging them into the projects. They challenged you on your intent of wasting time and money on projects that they couldn’t see any value. All they ever wanted was you to leave them alone. No matter how hard you have tried to sell your ‘jewel’ to them, they just insisted on their favorite ‘grain of corn’. When you were lucky, they probably just shunned away from you. On your less fortunate days, they might have even jeered you with the most contemptuous comments you have ever heard. Your faith had been shaken in several occasions as you doubted if you were doing the right thing. Perhaps the cocks were right. You should just pack and go…

In most global projects, the grand strategies and audacious goals are usually defined by the top management sitting in the ivory towers. However, when all these are cascaded down, they are repeated verbatim to the folks below without considering issues related to cultural differences, process deviations, legislative requirements, as well as local business priorities. This oversight created a gap in stakeholders’ expectation. It is not that the strategies and goals are too elusive and difficult to understand. In fact, the stakeholders do understand but just that they are not able to appreciate the associated value easily. It is like selling ‘jewel’ to the ‘cock’. People are stuck in their tunnel vision limited by culture, position, job scope, knowledge, experience, responsibility and authority etc. Do you really know what the cocks want? If not, what can you do to close this gap?

The cock, being a cock, may not see the value of the jewel immediately even if it understands that it may be something important to other people. Your job is to help the cock to realize the value of the jewel. Try to explain the value of your project to the stakeholders in a context that they can easily comprehend. Use a local language, watch out for idiosyncrasies, blend it with the culture, tell a story, give some examples or do whatever you can to justify your case. “Perhaps, teaching the cock to sell the jewel in exchange for corn may help.” you thought. Your objective is to package your project in a way that the stakeholders are able to understand its value and benefit from it. If that means that you have to drop the ‘jewel’ and sell the ‘corn’, so be it.