Pickle Jar Syndrome

I wrote this back in 2017 and it went viral on Quora with 100k+ views and Medium.

?I've observed this within my own companies and myself at times and I’m republishing this as it still rings true today:?

There’s a built-in condition or instinct it seems, within all of us that I call the Pickle Jar Syndrome and it works like this:

You see someone trying to open a jar of pickles; they’re clearly struggling. You immediately think, “I can do that” and then reach to grab the pickle jar and tell them that you can do it….. and fail. It’s stuck. You try harder and … nope, won’t open. You shrug it off and shake your head thinking “Hmmm, what in the hell is the matter with that jar?…”

This essentially happens daily throughout companies. You see some area of difficulty or some problem and essentially think, “I know what to do…” and then you inject yourself to some degree, try and solve it, and ultimately end up in approximately the same place that the last person was at without making it actually better.

If you haven’t done this, I’m sure you’ve seen it.

I believe it’s a natural built-in instinct we share, to problem solve and feel that we somehow know better and can actually solve the problem better than the person handling it now.

Maybe you can but in a company, the best thing you can do is solve your own problems and ensure others solve theirs.

Resist the urge to barge in and take over. Focus on using that energy to solve your problems and make your role better. Stay on your post on the ship and ensure that everyone else stays on their post on the ship. Force yourself to solve your problems and demand that others solve theirs. Don’t take that away from them.

Everyone will get better if you build a culture that forces them to find a way to open that damn pickle jar.

It’s incredibly hard to avoid the urge to take over and think that you know best or your way will work or you can handle it but often you can’t and your idea is no better than the person handling it now.

I think we all have some level of built-in hubris (defined as excessive pride or self-confidence) mechanism and it’s our job to keep it in check.

A culture of competent people built from challenges and problem-solving who are all expected to handle their own areas and their own problems will do dramatically better than one filled with pickle jar pros.

?— Robert

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About Robert Cornish:?Robert Cornish founded?Richter?in early 2008 to build an agency focused on communication strategies that support sales growth for business-to-business technology-related companies. Bootstrapped with zero capital in the middle of the financial meltdown, Richter went on to make the Inc 5000 list comprised of the fastest-growing companies in America five times.?Richter made the Silicon Valley Fast 50 four times and the Entrepreneur360 award two times.?Robert has been featured in Bloomberg Businessweek, Selling Power Magazine, Inc Magazine and IDEA magazine. He's been a guest speaker for ACG Los Angeles, IASA Summit, West Point and been interviewed for 33Voices,?EnTRUEpreneurship Podcast?and?IDEA Magazine by Northwood University.?In 2012 Wiley & Sons published his book,?What Works, about the lessons he's learned while growing his agency from start-up navigating his way to a multi-million dollar agency. Robert currently owns five companies.

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