5. Tyranny of the Or

“Tyranny of the OR” is a concept I was first introduced to more than ten years ago by the COO of a company I worked for at the time.  He described a facility manager asking him if he wanted a safe plant or a productive plant.  The obvious answer is, of course, both.  The problem is that all too often we accept an “Or” question as a valid question.  Once we do that we are restricting ourselves to a win-lose or even a lose-lose situation.  Even more ironic in the case of the above example is that over time a safe plant will be a productive plant.

Further research on this subject introduces a second clause to the saying – the “Genius of the AND” concept.  While some may view this as striving for “Eating your cake and having it, too”, I view it as a valid strategy that is usually obtainable. 

The first step is learning to recognize when we are being asked a “Tyranny Or” question.  It is not always easy, but with practice you should get an uncomfortable feeling when one is posed to you.  Limiting the boundary conditions in discussion too early in a process is almost sure to lead to a suboptimal result.

Replacing the "Or" with an "And" helps keep more options open for discussion.  It has been my experience that most people who ask "Or" questions do so without realizing the immediate limitations they are imposing on the situation.  These people are usually easy to bring around with a short discussion.  If you run into someone who uses the "Or" proposition intentionally, my advice is to be very careful.  You are dealing with someone who is knowingly trying to get to a conclusion favorable to them without you knowing it.

Let me know of any examples you have encountered.