The following are approximately the first 1000 words from Chapter 18 of Jonar Nader’s book,
How to Lose Friends and Infuriate People.

Management styles are out of fashion:

Everything is different but nothing has changed

A young student in his final year at a private high school decided to wear a small diamond-stud ear­­­­­­­-ring. His teachers harassed him to remove it, stating that it was against the school’s policy to allow boys to wear jewellery. The student refused to remove it, and for that year there was conflict.

The student’s argument was that if girls were allowed to decorate their ears, why not boys? He had contacted the Anti-Discrimination Board which advised him that, had the school been a public school, it would be acting illegally. Alas, it was a private school whose code of dress did not allow boys to wear earrings.

This student was no ordinary boy. He was a model student who had shown academic excellence at school and held an important role at his city council.

Because of the earring, teachers threatened the student with all sorts of penalties, such as withholding his graduation certificates, refusing him entry to the graduation ball, and threatening to deprive him of a school reference — a serious threat that could have jeopardised his job prospects.

As the situation unfolded, its most fascinating element was the unbelievable discrimination and victimisation the boy suffered. He became outraged, not so much by the school’s insistence that its archaic rule be followed, but by his treatment at the hands of his teachers.

The student soon lost interest in the earring and its value as a fashion object. He was now pursuing something that showed him how discrimination works. He observed his teachers intently (some of them he had thought of as his friends) and noted how they began to exhibit unpleasant, frightening behaviour.

The looming showdown finally took place. Out of respect for his teachers, the student removed the earring to avoid the now-unbearable pressure. He was humiliated, upset, and defeated. However, one teacher insisted that he hand over the earring. When he refused to part with his expensive jewellery, the teacher reached her ultimate position and suspended him for one week for insubordination — a mean-spirited technicality.

During the final week of school, there was a film on television called The Crucible. The student was familiar with it because he had read the book and knew that it showed the vicious side of victimisation and social intolerance. While reading a newspaper advertisement promoting the film, he looked up at me and said, ‘I don’t think that anything has changed.’

Indeed, everything is different, but nothing has changed.

Standing on the giant’s shoulder

The student, soon to turn eighteen, decided to take it upon himself and call the press. One by one he telephoned editors to voice his concerns. Not so much about his desire to wear the diamond stud — for he had finished his schooling and had nothing more to gain. He wanted to remove a stumbling stone for others less confident, less vocal, and unable to stand up for their rights.

I attended the student’s graduation ceremony where once more he was badgered backstage to remove the earring or risk not being allowed to appear on stage to receive his certificates in front of several thousand invited guests.

The guest of honour and guest speaker for the night, much to my surprise, was an old school principal of mine who had bucked the system by leaving the Brotherhood to marry the light of his life. The well-spoken ex-principal gave an uplifting speech about the school’s history and shared his memories of old. He spoke of a middle-of-the-road student who was not academically bright, but whose hard efforts enabled him to find a job in the local area. He recounted what the exuberant student had told him: ‘I showed the boss my school reference, and he took one look at the school crest and was impressed that I was a student of the school. The boss said, “If you went to that school, then that’s good enough for me, you’ve got the job.”’ It was at this point that the hall erupted with proud applause — the only such spontaneity.

My ex-principal then concluded his speech by telling the students that they could benefit from the school’s formidable reputation by standing on the shoulders of the giants who went before them. That brought a shiver to the back of my neck.

Who were these giants? The footballers and athletes whose trophies made the school proud? The academics who scored full marks in their examinations? No, these were not the giants. My definition of social giants is those who, in their time, make an important contribution to the advancement of a cause. However, such folk, in their day, were better known as troublemakers — not giants.

It is the so-called troublemakers who pave the way. They carve new paths, find new solutions, and break down the barriers in search of the truth — like the student with his earring. How humiliating it was for him to walk on stage, shaken, emotionally battered, harassed, to stand in front of so many people who knew him as the troublemaker. I wonder who had the grace to know that he was, in fact, a giant?

This story is relevant to this chapter because it highlights two important elements. The first is that things have not changed. The second is that those who push back the boundaries are often perceived as troublemakers.

On the subject of management styles, management trends, and management fads, the astute will see that nothing has changed. The fact that certain management styles are out of fashion brings no relief to giants because the unpopular nature of management fads is, in itself, a fashion trend. The root causes of fads being easily adopted or just as readily rejected remain the same root causes. When the majority rejects a fad, this does not mean that most people have seen the light. Nor does it mean they have understood the situation. Most of them are still unaware of the truth. Their rejection of the now-worn fad is caused by the same fear or excitement that led them to accept the trend in the first place. So, nothing has changed. The fickle managers are none the wiser for choosing the new fad. They remain vulnerable to the next wave.