Peter Drucker and Warren Bennis brought to fore this unique twist of words – the difference between “doing thing rights” and “doing the right things”. A lot has been written about it. Everybody knows this and thinks about it – personal experiences bring this to life. Here is my first tryst with it.
Back in the 1970s, as a middle school freshman boarder, we faced inevitable ragging by the seniors. This was usual and traditional to attain boarding school knighthood. Most times it was done in good faith but was seldom pleasant. In fact, at times it was extreme – some seniors unleashed an inexplicable sadistic streak. Some of what I went through were avoidable and objectionable, but we had to bear with it. It was at that impressionable age that I recall my first wave of a conscience strike. When I attain seniority would I unleash the same tyranny on the juniors, or would it be done differently? What was the right thing to do?
And the time came around, as we seniors sat conniving to get the blokes in. This is the first memory of my conscience being questioned what I stood for. I mustered the courage to speak up and suggest to my batchmates that we dispense with parts that we ourselves had to suffer through. I was criticized and abused for my expression. “If we went through it, the juniors jolly well face the same fate” – an approach my conscience just revolted against. A small minority of us stood our ground, abstained from what we knew was wrong and remained ostracised for a long time after that.
What would have been considered “doing it right” was taking the beaten path – the passive acceptance of what was always done. “Doing things right” is to simply follow instructions and rules without question or judgement. On the other hand, doing the “right things” is about following a principle or a value system that very often can conflict with a tradition, a policy, or a regulation. I am fortunate to have been exposed to circumstances to exercise judgement at an early impressionable age – to question a tradition and a regulated way of doing things because it conflicted with a value system. This conviction gave me the courage to speak up even though I knew there would be consequences.
I did not always hit the target. In my corporate career I confess to have often chartered the beaten path because it is difficult to fight and win every battle. If the focus is on winning the war, perhaps you must lose some battle – I am not proud of those passive walkovers but perhaps you strive to win your ultimate war? What is that war, we may never know. I have left organisations on points of principle more than once – perhaps I should have continued and waged the war? With an unknown and unseen enemy that seemed formidable. I do not have a perfect answer. I still try to focus on the right things – and it manifests itself every day. Here is a ubiquitous example.
The red light at a traffic signal in any Indian city. But for the cops, 8 out of 10 vehicles choose to break the red and yours truly abides by the rule every time. Am I merely doing things right because there is a rule around stopping at a signal? Are the others doing the “right thing” by ignoring the signal because they can pass? My answer to this question is crystal clear. Traffic rules are placed to respect everyone and ensure order and safety. These rules are a wonderful example of situations where obeying rules is the only right thing to do. Stopping at the signal because there is a cop watching is doing things right – but waiting at the signal when you are not being watched IS DOING THE RIGHT THING!
