Knowing the Character Allows You to Manage the Character<p><p

When my friend Doc, a losing poker player, was a seventh-grader in Mr. Baker's English class, he was scared to death. Mr. Baker was an old-school disciplinarian with a passion for literature. Tick him off with bad behavior or a lack of critical thinking and you were toast.

The class had just read the first half of a story about a man named Gilbert who was the most respected man in his tiny village because he was the only one with a gun. He got all of his pride, self-esteem, and privileges in the village because of this one simple possession. Gilbert had a gun, so he was king – that's all you need to know.

Gilbert was out in the forest and was attacked by a wild animal when his gun misfired. In an incredible display of courage and strength, he killed the animal with his bare hands. With his bare hands! In this story, it's not hard to put yourself in Gilbert's shoes. You are a hero. You are the king of the village, and you have just killed a wild animal with your bare hands.

Before he continued with the story, Mr. Baker asked the class, "So, when Gilbert goes back to the village, what do you think he will tell everyone?"

Krissy's hand shot up. "I'd tell everyone exactly what happened. I'm not a liar, so I'd tell the truth."

Mr. Baker looked frustrated, but he ignored Krissy's comment and called on Randy, who said, "I'd probably embellish it a little bit and say the animal was even bigger than it was; you know, play it up a little bit."

This answer didn't seem to sit too well with Mr. Baker, as the vein in his forehead was more visible than ever, but Doc, who was normally scared to death of speaking out in class, decided to be brave. He raised his hand and said, "I'd, I'd, I'd…"

But Mr. Baker didn't let him finish. With nostrils flaring, and with more spit than words coming out of his mouth, he screamed, "I didn't ask you what you would do, I asked what the character would do!"

Mr. Baker reiterated that Gilbert got all of his esteem and power from being the only one in the village who had a gun. If he admitted that his gun misfired, he would lose all of his status. This isn't a difficult riddle, but these seventh-graders couldn't for one second think of anyone but themselves. They all put themselves in the character's shoes and thought about how they would act, not how Gilbert would act.

Mr. Baker's lesson was lost on Doc. The reason Doc struggles as a poker player is that he always thinks that his opponent would play a hand the same way he would. "There's no way you could have a 4 and an 8 in the hole," Doc screamed at the tourist who showed him a straight during a game of hold'em. "Nobody plays that hand." As bad as Doc plays at times, it's unlikely that he would play a 4 and an 8, either. But the player in question hadn't folded a hand all night, and loved to say, "Any two will do." Doc should have known that any hand was possible from this player.

Doc's fundamental flaw is that he doesn't take the time to play the hand as if he were in the other player's shoes. When his nephew got a job selling home improvements, Doc told him that no one buys without getting three bids and researching all the companies. He assumed that the way he shops was the way everyone shops, which was dead wrong. Most people buy on impulse, and more often than not, his nephew could make a sale on the spot. It's a common mistake to think that the way you act is the way others act. It's also a costly one.

In poker and in business, you have to think like your opponent before you can manage your opponent. New managers, in particular, struggle with this issue the most. They assume that their employees will act the way that they acted when they were employees. They seem to think that the same things that motivated them will motivate everyone else: achievement, recognition, upward mobility, and money. When their techniques don't work, they'll blame the employees for not responding and will wonder why they can't be more like they were. Big mistake.

The good managers will find out what motivates employees and will manage according to the employees' needs, not their own. It may be flexible hours, tuition reimbursement, more creative projects, or more cigarette breaks. It's your job to find out what works for them, rather than assume that it's the same as what worked for you.

The next time you're at the poker table or at work, stop thinking about how you would act, and start thinking about how the character would act.

Greg Dinkin is the author of The Finance Doctor (www.doctordink.com). He is also the co-founder of Venture Literary (www.ventureliterary.com), where he works with authors to find publishers for their books and producers for their films.