How to Break Rules and Influence Good Outcomes

There’s a reason we have rules. This is something people say when not following a rule coincides with bad luck. You could break the rule a thousand times without anything bad happening, but you can bet that as soon as something bad does happen you will hear this smug phrase. Can’t you see them shaking a finger at you, talking to you like you’re a child, scolding you for not following the rules?  Man, I hate those people. I hope I’ve never been that person. There should be a rule against being that person.

Here is a quick rule-breaking story. It’s a great story because: 

1. It involves rule breaking. 2.  It involves sticking it to the man. And 3. A whole bunch of good results from the rule- breaking.

So here goes. 

I worked for a company that was becoming quite successful. The owner had invented a product that was revolutionizing the orthopedic industry.  The company was starting to make some real money.  He bought a building in an older industrial area of our city.  Distributions were being made and he was feeling flush.  He was also in a mood to share the wealth. The building was larger than the company needed, so he donated part of the building to a local Meals-on-Wheels program.  You know, the good folks who prepare food and then round up volunteers to bring that food to your Moms and Dads when they get too old to make their own dinner. Ok. This story is not living up to its promise. Not one rule has been broken yet.  But hang on, it's good when it happens.

So when this organization (No, that sounds boring. Let’s just call it Friendship Trays to make it a more fun story). So, when Friendship Trays volunteers come to pick up meals to deliver to all those hungry seniors, they need a place to park so that they can run inside, fill up their little cooler with milk cartons and pick up a bag of hot food, run back out the door, hop in their car and zoom away. 

The company had about twenty employees and the building had about about twelve parking spaces. One of the employees and the owner watched walk-in freezers and giant commercial equipment being moved into the future Operation Center for Friendship Trays. The employee decided to ask, “Where will the volunteers park?” That person had no vision at all.  The owner of the company said that he was going to build a parking lot in the back of the property. Oh. That was simple. Not a single rule has been broken yet. Maybe I should start getting to that part.

The person who clearly had no imagination or vision at all then asked, “What about the railroad tracks?” The owner said that he was just going to ask the railroad company to abandon the right of way and come take up the tracks. They weren’t using them, after all. The person who had no vision, no imagination, and obviously no sense stated, “I don’t think that they will do that.” And then, maybe, just maybe the owner considered that thought for about a millisecond or about the length of time Steph Curry has to think about whether to take a three pointer or not.

                            “No”, he said, “They will.”
                         Swish.

Unfortunately, the man at the local railroad company lacked vision as well. He could not see the future. He did not know that he was defending his tracks from philanthropy’s version of Steph Curry. He could hold up his arms, wave them around, and jump up and down. But nothing was going to stop that ball from going through the hoop. Or, nothing was going to stop a parking lot from going in a railroad right of way. The railroad man asked if there were tracks in the right of way. When he was told that there were, he replied that the Railroad does not abandon any right of way that has a track on it, whether they use it or not. He thought the game was over.

Now here is where the rule breaking happens. 

The owner of the company calls up a guy.  A guy with something called a Bobcat. If you don’t know, it is sort of like a cute little bulldozer.  The guy with the Bobcat was very excited about the impending rule breaking event.  He unloaded it from a trailer and moved railroad tracks like they were pick-up sticks.  He plucked them up and moved them to the front of the building and set them on the curb.  He then proceeded to grade a nice flat space for a new parking lot.

The owner of the company made another call to the railroad man.  Owner: “You know those tracks that were in the railroad right of way?” RR man: “yes.” Owner: “They aren’t there anymore.” RR man: “Where are my tracks?” Owner: “They are on the curb in front of my building.”  RR man, defeat in his voice, “Leave them there, we will come get them.” Owner victoriously asks, “Can I have the right of way back now?”

RR man said yes.

So sure enough they came and picked up the tracks.  

A beautiful, meal fulfilling parking lot was built.

That was twenty years ago and volunteers faithfully come to Friendship Trays and park there every day and run in grab the food and take it to people who are truly in need. Literally hundreds of thousands of meals have made their way from that parking lot to homes all across our city.

Actual Parking Lot from Story

There is a reason we have rules. 

So that we can break them and 

make good things happen.