企业文化中普遍存在的邀功心理是从哪里来的？之前我就有关这个话题写过文章，但令我惊讶的是，在最近的创业峰会上，一些企业家竟指责股东在企业刚创立阶段投入的资金率太小。对我这样的投资人来说，这听起来仿佛是创业想法赋予了他们要求资金的权利。
我们似乎认为人类社会已经到了可以按照个人意志让很多东西发生改变的地步。我们知道自己喜欢和不喜欢什么，因此我们要让这个社会变成我们希望的那样。某种程度上，我们这些梦想和愿望已经转化为许多人思想中的邀功心理。
在后商业时期，当员工以冷漠对待客户、认为他们只要看起来像在工作就足够了，这时候邀功的心理非常明显。以下是人们给自己的邀功心理找的借口，尤其当这种心理让他们产生享受金钱和权力的幻觉时。
“我比这儿的大多数人付出的时间都多，因此我应该拿奖金。”奖金本应与工作绩效挂钩，而不是工作时间。我们都知道一些看起来一直在工作的人，其实并没有干出多大的成效。有邀功心理的人索要的奖金是时间上的奖金，而不是给老板赚钱的奖金。
“我们应该得到高回报，犯错的是其他部门。”这是我们几年前在只靠政府救济的华尔街公司中经常听到的一句话。一个公司只有所有团队都成功了，它才称为成功。这就是资本主义存在的方式，如果公司已经破产了，你个人做得再好也没用。
“无论我工作是否努力，回报好像都一样。”没有任何一家公司能容忍平庸或甚至更差的员工。谨防邀功心理作祟，并让所有人都明白，邀功心理指导下的行为无法让人忍受。管理者要在这方面树立榜样，并让所有员工向榜样看齐。
“我只负责我自己的工作，因此不要妄想客户抱怨时我能站出来。”员工们看不到客户今天的购物体验将影响到其日后从该公司购物的心情。要让员工明白即刻提升客户感受和发现市场需求的重要性。
“我把自己的所有都奉献给了公司，因此我理应享受医疗保险。”医疗的确是一种需要，与水和食物一样，但它不是一种权利。正如水和食物一样，它不是免费的。每家公司都需要在所有员工之间倡导公平，按照贡献的大小给员工相应的报酬。但是索要权益、让公司反感的做法不是解决之道。
“早晚有一天这家公司会是我的。”多少家族企业因为存在这种心理而丧命？无论怎样对待工作，这家公司早晚是他们的——当继承人有了这样的想法时，其结果往往失去这家公司。并且，一旦这种思想出现了，就很难再消除。
邀功的想法若一直未被发现，就会转化为自私，甚至有更高的期望产生。大多数心理学家认为邀功心理往往源于内心深处认为这世界不公。在某个时期，这种想法被认为可能是因为这些人小时候家长把一切都奉献给了自己，于是现在期望公司也这么对待他们。
我们不得不提醒每个人，不管是员工、企业家还是公司高管，真正的成功和领导力是建立在个人责任感和自律的基础上。公司若因在市场上所处的位置邀功，注定会失败；而有邀功心理的员工则会毁了一个公司。
很少有事情能比如何解决有邀功心理的人的问题更让我头疼。每个人都要面临把企业中的邀功文化转变为绩效文化这一挑战。我坚持认为每个人都有追求成功的权利，但没有任何一个人有要求得到某种权利的权利。
Where did this pervasive sense of entitlement in our business culture come from? I’ve written about this before, but I was surprised again recently at a conference for startups when a couple of entrepreneurs started berating investors for their low rate of funding for early-stage startups. It sounded to investors like me that they expected a funding entitlement for their startup idea.
As a society, we seem to think we’ve evolved to the point where we can fashion a large portion of existence according to how we wish it to be. We notice what we like and what we dislike, so we work to make society match our dreams. Somehow, these dreams and wishes have morphed in many people’s mind to an entitlement.
In later-stage businesses, entitlement is evident when employees treat customers with indifference, or feel they are entitled to their job by merely “showing up for work.” Here are some examples of people rationalizing their entitlements, especially when the fantasy serves to owe them money or power:
“We deserve our high pay since it was the other division that failed.”We heard this from many of the Wall Street groups that survived a couple of years ago only with government bail-outs. A company succeeds only if all the teams succeed. That’s the way capitalism works. Being really good at what you do doesn’t matter if your firm is broke.
“I put in more hours than most of the people here, so I expect a bonus.” A bonus should be all about results, not time worked. We all know people who seem to be always present and always working, but don’t produce results. People with entitlement expect bonuses because it is bonus time, not because recipients earned them.
“The pay seems to be the same whether I work hard, or hardly work.”No business can afford to reward mediocrity or less. Watch for the signs of entitlement and let it be known that the behaviors associated with entitlement will not be tolerated. Executives need to show up be the model, communicate the model, and enforce the model.
“I did my job, so don’t expect me to jump when customers complain.”Employees don’t see a connection between how the experience a customer receives today influences their feelings about buying from the company in the future. Make sure they understand the sense of urgency to address customer satisfaction and market needs.
“I give my all to this company, so I deserve healthcare coverage.”Health care is a need, like water or food, and not a right. And like water or food, it isn’t free. Every company needs to promote equity among all employee levels, and relate benefit levels to profit levels. But demanding benefits that sink the company is not the answer.
“Someday this business will be mine anyway.” How many family businesses have met their demise because of this entitlement view? When heirs grow up believing that no matter how they act, the business will be theirs to run, they often end up with no business to run. Furthermore, once that seed is planted, it’s very difficult to stop it.
Entitlement beliefs that are left unchecked lead to selfish, even more entitled expectations. Most psychologists believe that entitlement comes from a deep inner belief that the world is not fair. In Gen-Y, this feeling can be rationalized as perhaps derived from an early life where parents gave them everything, and they now expect the world of business to do the same.
We’ve got to remind everyone, employees, entrepreneurs, and company executives, that true success and leadership is built on a foundation of personal responsibility and self-discipline. Companies which feel entitled about their position in the marketplace will lose, and entitled employees will kill a company.
Few things frustrate me more than dealing with people who feel they are entitled. Everyone shares the challenge of changing our business culture of entitlement into a culture of merit. I do believe everyone is entitled to pursue success. No one is entitled to be entitled.
