Patio Pondering: When the Squeaky Wheel Gets All the Grease
The sun has yet to crest the horizon this morning, the last week of “late” sunrises before we turn the clocks back to Standard Time. I am trying a different coffee roast today, and the change is refreshing as I take in the chilly patio view.
It’s hard to top yesterday’s One Year Sober reflection. As I sit here, coffee in hand, I have plenty of things flowing through the muddy waters of my brain, but one thought from yesterday afternoon keeps resurfacing: how some people can be so insular in their thoughts and actions that they fail to see the bigger picture.
The old saying “The squeaky wheel gets the grease” came to mind. I started thinking about how management reacts to these squeaky wheels, whether employees or customers. Too often, the response is to placate them. Give them what they want, make the noise stop, move on. But when that becomes the default, placating turns into rewarding.
I think back to a few customers I worked with who always complained. They complained about the plant. They complained about the truckers. They complained about the sales team and management. And management always tried to appease them. Yet the complaining never stopped. It probably still happens to this day.
That particular customer sold quite a bit of feed, but at some point, you must ask when is enough, enough? When is the abuse of your people and the complaining about your product and services too much?
I’ve seen it in other settings too, where the squeaky wheel keeps getting the grease while the rest of the wagon quietly holds the load. It is easy to focus on the noise because it demands attention. But the quiet ones, the dependable employees, the steady customers, the people who just do their jobs without drama, they are the ones who keep things rolling forward.
Maybe the lesson is not to stop greasing the squeaky wheel altogether, but to remember to grease every zerk, even the hard to reach one underneath the combine. Appreciation, trust, and attention shouldn’t only go to those who make the most noise. Sometimes it’s the quiet, consistent ones who deserve the grease the most.
As you head into your day, who’s keeping your wagon moving, and have you let them know you notice?