This story came from a friend and colleague in Brisbane, Australia. I’d love to hear from someone in the rail industry to substantiate this story - it is a good anecdote for thinking twice about following “the rules.”

Good news: It was a normal day in  Sharon Springs, KS, when a railroad crew boarded a  loaded coal train for the long trek to Salina, KS.

The Bad news: Just a few miles into the trip a wheel bearing became overheated and melted, letting a metal support drop down and grind on the rail, creating white hot molten metal droppings spewing down to the rail.

The Good news: A very alert crew noticed smoke about halfway back in the train and immediately stopped the train in compliance with the rules.

The Bad news: The train stopped with the hot wheel over a wooden bridge with creosote ties and trusses.

The crew tried to explain to management but were instructed not to move the train! They were instructed “The Rules” prohibit  moving the train when a part is defective!  The molten metal droppings made short work of the wooden bridge - it quickly caught fire and collapsed, taking a number of train cars along with it.

RULES  IS RULES!

(Don’t  let common sense get in the way of a good disaster!)

Sometimes the most powerful way to engage in Intelligent Disobedience is to say no, especially when a task “opportunity” enters your office.

You are busy, juggling priorities and multiple initiatives, and you have an ambitious manager. At the same time we want to approach our managers, the business, and ourselves with integrity. Does it reflect high integrity when a task opportunity comes your way and you don’t know how you will accomplish it and you neglect to say something like…I can’t do that?

Intelligent Disobedience doesn’t mean we should be needlessly difficult. It does mean we should be true to ourselves and those around us. One of the most effective ways to do that and relieve undue stress, is to stop trying to juggle too much. If a work opportunity comes your way, and you don’t know how you will accomplish it, say no OR ask which of your major projects (or significant to-do items) you can “suspend” in order to accomplish this new task. You owe that brand of truth to your boss, your peers, your own sanity and your family!

The Harvard Business Review published an excellent article with this same theme - in fact it is in the top two best selling reprints in the history of the Harvard Business Review magazine. You can access the article via this link: http://hbr.org/1999/11/management-time-whos-got-the-monkey/ar/1

Welcome to the Intelligent Disobedience blog – designed to help leaders excel by discussing how and when to push back, bend rules (with communication and integrity!) and save our businesses from themselves!

“Intelligent Disobedience” is understanding how and when to “say no” to leaders and  influential stakeholders using skills similar in nature to those used by “seeing-eye” and other assistance dogs. All dogs must go through training prior to being certified as assistance dogs, and only those with “intelligent disobedience” capabilities pass muster and become certified. It is the dogs that know when to “disobey their masters” - such as refusing to cross the street when a car is coming - that succeed at becoming seeing-eye dogs. Can you imagine a seeing-eye dog that didn’t possess “Intelligent Disobedience”; venturing into the street because its master commanded him to do so, despite the oncoming car?

Can you imagine a leader diligently pressing forward with a business initiative or a development approach that they believed would fail or be contradictory to organizational objectives? Although the seeing-eye dog story has a more deadly outcome, this latter example occurs with far too great a frequency and the end result could be costing our organizations significant losses in revenue, lack of customer satisfaction, and even integrity issues.

For leaders, “Intelligent Disobedience” is knowing when and how to depart from the norm in opinions, cultural standards, and processes. “Intelligent Disobedience” means understanding the politics of an organization, and maneuvering around the “land mines” that can diminish the effectiveness of the organization - even when those land mines were planted by the organization itself! “Intelligent Disobedience” means having strong beliefs in our business objectives and those of your organization. “Intelligent Disobedience” means taking leadership responsibilities very seriously. It means having courage, fortitude and being determined to do right for your team, yourself and the organization - even in the face of risks. “Intelligent Disobedience” is tough and is vital to ensuring the alignment of company initiatives and projects with organizational objectives, especially in today’s business climate.

With our blog entries, we will discuss the how’s, when’s and why’s of utilizing Intelligent Disobedience – to help you help yourself, your teams, and your business. (And maybe your life outside of work as well!) So, watch this space, share your comments with us, and grow with stories from people who have engaged in real life Intelligent Disobedience, taken the risks, and come out shining!