Respect gets you nowhere.

Respect gets you nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Let me explain.

Photo courtesy of Gratisography

So I'm walking down the street going to work.

The same way I do every morning. I know I'm getting close because the smell of bacon, pancakes, and syrup tugs at my legs. "You already ate breakfast. Only a quarter-mile to go." I tell myself.

Well, I get about one hundred yards past the diner and this guy blocks the sidewalk, bringing his fist to my chin.

"Give me five dollars!" he says.

He's big. Five dollars ain't worth a black eye.

I have a fiver in my front pocket, I had another in my jacket. So I give him the five dollars from my front pocket.

The guy takes the money and walks directly into the diner.

I get to work a little rattled, but unbruised.

The next day on my way to work I see the Thug waiting for me, exactly where he threatened me the day before. I crossed the road. I didn't need this crap today. He followed me. I soon found myself in the same predicament, a fist at my chin and a demand of five dollars.

I had replenished my pocket fiver. Which was then again given to the Thug. The Thug continued on to the diner. And I went on my way. More angry than scared.

The next morning I see the guy from a mile away. He's looking for me. I cross the road, go through a back alley, and take one street over. It'll take a little longer, but... Dang it! He saw me. I gave him the fiver.

The next day I ran down every alley I could find. I even jumped a fence. Gave him the fiver.

A few months ago, I took a stand. He threw a sucker punch. I left with a bloody nose. And he left with five dollars.

The next day, I came prepared for a real fight. I gave as much as I got. But he still left with the fiver.

I know his soft spots now. He favors one knee. 

I haven't seen him since that last fight. I'm kinda bummed about that. I signed up for Krav-maga classes...

Now I go into the diner every morning and spend the whole ten dollars, five in my pants pocket, and the other five on my jacket. Hoping I see that guy walking by...

The Crossroads of Fear and Respect

Instilling Fear has a huge ROI in the beginning. All he had to do was raise his fist. He got five dollars. He could have had ten. But there is no way I would give him more than he demanded.

The next day he had to increase his investment by walking across the street. Then follow me as I snaked down alley and side streets. Eventually, it led to a full confrontation.

The Thug was smart and looked for a different victim. Wasn't worth it. 

At the crossroads of Respect, the Fearmonger has three choices. To either, quit, up the anty ( which means he is giving more than he gets), or create a Resect-based relationship, where both give exactly what they get.

If the Thug's pride was involved, they will escalate no matter the cost. If the ex-victim stands firm, it will eventually be the end of one of them. Either way, the Fearmonger loses. 

This cycle is as old as time

The Fearmonger instills fear to get what they want. The victim gives in to the demand, but the victims are more and more reluctant to give in to the demands as time goes by. The Fearmonger needs to escalate the threat in order to get the same return. The Fearmonger might be the source of the threat directly, or they will create an enemy to instill fear and the Fearmonger will pretend to protect the people from the enemy. Both approaches leverage fear to get what they want.

Depots and Kings ruled for generations. It used to take generations before the people finally revolted. But with more access to information, the people see examples of those who fought back and won. You don't see many Kings with any real power anymore, and the Despots are definitely fewer.

The people eventually figure out they don't have to be victims. The people finally demand Respect.  We've seen it throughout history, the Fearmonger either has to accept them at the bargaining table, or run for their lives.

As time moves on, there are only two end-states with a Fear-based approach. Either everyone sits at the table. Or only one does.  

And strangely in both cases, you fined extremely frustrated people.

In the world of Respect, there must be equitable transfer or no deal. If I give you five dollars worth of effort, I expect five dollars in return. Neither of us will be victims, or we will have a fight on our hands. We're all now part of the "Good ol' boys club".

 Five for five. The net return of that model is zero. Zero ROI. Nada. No growth, no increase. 

However, the Human Soul needs to grow, to increase, otherwise, we are frustrated, uncomfortable, bored.

So we need to find someone who is willing to give more than they get. Another victim.

Victims are easy to find. Create an "enemy" then sell the rocks to throw at each other. Create scarcity where there is none, and you can charge as much as you want. Create cold, hunger, thirst and you can get someone to work for almost nothing. Create low self-esteem and you can lead them around by their $200 dollar designer noserings (the must-have this season). 

That Fear-based world is dying. 

We are seeing it erode every day. The new generations are not playing the Fear game. The internet has shown people all over the world examples of places where there is less of their brand of scarcity.  They don't have to live that way.

And then they stand up to the Fearmongers and demand respect.

So what do we do, when there are no more victims? 

When everyone demands respect. What then?

We are seeing the answer popping up all over the place.  We are starting to see the new world being built upon an Honor-based foundation. It had been recognized decades before via Game and Economics theory. And finally, we are recognizing examples in the real world.

Some visionaries, by their very nature, have inspired organizations to become Honor-based. It wasn't on purpose. They just set the example of not playing the Fear or Respect game, and their company followed suit. 

Here are some signs of organizations that don't play the Fear or Respect game.

• They pay more than a living wage, even to roles that were normally paid minimum wage. They avoid debt. 
• They are generally privately owned. 
• They value training and education. 
• They tend to be flat organizations. 
• They are very careful about who they bring onto the team. 
• They are transparent in nearly all facets of their business (sometimes even salaries).
• They work for a higher purpose. 
• They encourage real connections between team members and clients. 
• They focus on results and giving credit where credit is due. 
• They trust their team members. Some work from home. Sick and vacation time are managed by the team member.

And their results, though sparse at the beginning, became exponential. 

Some examples: In-n-Out Burger, Costco, W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. - Post describing why coming soon

Those that leverage Fear are scared about the new Honor-based world. 

Their model is one of decaying ROI. And the time frame between beginning to instill fear and the victim demanding Respect is shortening due to shared connections and experiences through the internet.

The Fearmongers are fighting back hardcore. Filtering the internet, making it harder to vote, slapping down peaceful protests, and silencing leaders. They are doubling down on defamation, obstruction, and creating animosity. They spread conspiracy, lies, and fallacies.

They are all doomed to fail...eventually. Everyone will demand Respect once they realize they don't have to be victims. And then, no growth nor increase anywhere.

Once that happens, then what?

Coming Soon - The Honor-based model, the Fear-based model flipped in its head.