One of our bright young engineers proposed changing the cover screws for our pumps. The new screw would require an allen wrench the size needed to convert our pumps from one pipe to two pipe. The proposed screw not only performed better but was less expensive. We immediately made the change.
We all know that people resent change. Shortly afterward I had to work the ASHRAE show in New York. I was standing in our booth, and I noticed a guy walking our way. I immediately recognized he had something on his mind. He came up and stuck his face in my face and said, “What in the world ever possessed you to change the cover screws?” I looked him square in the eye and said, “We did it to piss you off”. He was so startled that he took two steps back and said, “Well I knew you had a reason”. I then explained the change to him and he agreed that it made sense.
This is a way of taken a left turn in a conversation and possibly avoiding conflict while resolving the issue.
