Minds of men; I told my wrath

Situation before I told my right. Anger grows and as naturally as his heartbeat whenever his progress is blocked whenever his value threatens demand waxes rock his body and his mind prepare for action against the challenge and against telling crisis or nagging trivia in the song are smoldering present in profane word of action and fashion is his answer. But whether that answer is the stuff dictated by anger as a whole are urged by the. Man himself. As one chooses a Knight told. Radio television the University of Texas presents the minds of men

a series of explorations into effective living. Written by the Durham swims and directed by RCA norks. These programs are prepared with the assistance and counsel of the Hogg foundation for Mental Hygiene. And produced under a special grant from the Educational Television and Radio Center and cooperation with the National Association of educational broadcasters. Their aim. A keener understanding of the forces universally at work in the minds of men. Better than most.

Take your shoes. How about a drink everybody. CHARLES Oh I just want a big glass of ice. How about you add Graham Jane. Yeah one for the road. Make mine like nothing for me thanks. Well let's all just sit down and read it. That was some do. It truly was Margot when I think of all the work you went to the bar to have a good time. You know this retirement business is a hard go. Like being turned out to pasture makes you realize you're getting on. I don't know. I can think of worse things than a permanent vacation with retirement. And Barkley got stashed away in one of these days now. You can tell us how I'd feel. Wait a minute. You're retiring me before I even got the job. Oh Tom for heaven's sakes everybody knows you're it pure. No question about it. Off with your branch manager and on with the new. Oh I don't know now Mount Olympus hasn't spoken yet.

You have time. Well I do hope they hurry up about it. I can't wait for Tom to step up to branch manager so it can be assistant manager and Graham can move up to any of us any good to me. You can't beat it. Then let's drink to it what do you say. Now I say bottoms up and down the hatch. Oh my goodness what am I thinking oh that's a terrible. What do you mean what are you talking about. I'm just toasted the whole beautiful new set up in ice water. Did you get the copy of the telegram Miss Nelson. Yes sir. Here says just what I told you Mr. Bartlett. What I understood over the phone. It beats me flat. Beats me. What's this guy's name again. Called Lawrence Colton. Anybody ever hear of him. I've seen his name in the newsletter. Supposed to be quite a flash. Well I don't know I never read those things. Sounds like trouble to me. There's nothing worse you know than one of those wonders

who comes in and ready to turn things inside out overnight. Yeah they're so sure that what worked in a horse like Falls Idaho was like cancer all over the map. Look at those two characters we got sent down by the company while Barclay was here. Gum shoeing around poking into this nose and into that. And did they ever come up with one suggestion that made sense really made sense. Not to my way of thinking. Not to anybody's way of thinking. And they never will. You know why. Because they just don't savvy the local picture. They may be real flashes in some of the neck of the woods but here they're just a pain in the neck. Now when I was in the New York plant. What are we going to tell Jane and Charlie and Margo. I don't even know what to tell myself. I'll tell you what I'm telling myself. What's that. I'm telling myself this Colton must be pretty cozy with the big boys for them to come railroading him in like this over everybody's head. You just could be right it could be right.

I am right and that means he's going to put the good housekeeping seal of approval on every hair brained impractical suggestion the home office sends down here. If I noticed a big if boys. If we have fool enough to let him. Your zone is comfortable everybody. If you want to smoke right ahead. And this isn't a court of inquiry of formal meeting or anything. It's just sort of a get acquainted session because while I feel that the sooner we all get to know one another the sooner we'll be able to work effectively together don't you agree. We all know one another pretty well Mr. COLEMAN. That's right Mr. Jenkins. From your point of view I am the only real stranger here but then of course from my point of view I don't know any of you at all very well and I need to because. Well forgetting about titles fundamentally I'm here as a learner. I don't feel that I can do my job very well if I don't know a great deal about your jobs and I'm ready and willing to have you tell me. I do know that every job has its own peculiar demands and problems and that nobody knows

these problems like the people who work at that job every day just as every branch of our company has its own particular situation dissatisfied and nobody knows the ends and outs of that situation as well as the people right here on the ground so to speak. Then on the other hand somebody coming in brand new brings a fresh perspective I think we'll all admit that. So I feel that we've got something to offer the other and then all of us working together can do a better job than each of us working separately. Kind of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That's it exactly time we're thinking right along the same line. Well it stands to reason if we get together like this every so often talk over the things that are going so well not with the idea of blaming anybody but just with a view to seeing how we can all do our mutual job better. It stands to reason will have a whole as Tom says that all of us pards can be mighty proud all of us upon his time sends us time said Boy.

Bartlett Were you ever getting the old grease job now and I think a lot of what Colin was saying makes sense you've got it made his thinking pretty straight when it comes to the local business situations suck a baked Graham. That's part of the come on. Colton doesn't give a hoot in Hades about the local situation. That's just to get everybody relaxed and thinking he's on their side and then wham that brand new perspective of his is going to take over. Anybody that doesn't do things his way is going to be out in the cold. If you take my advice. Command. Oh hello Mr. Cole. Hello Miss Nelson is Mr. Bartlett in no third Mr. Jenkins came by a little while ago. Mr. Bartlett went off with Mr. Jenkins. We had a conference scheduled for Mr. Bartlett got my memo Yes sir he did but Tuesday you know that's the day Mr. Bartlett Mr. Jenkins play golf. No I didn't know. Oh well that's what Mr. Jenkins he said Being new here you would know Tuesday's blood feud. Mr. Jenkins.

He said he was sure once you knew you just as soon have the conference some other day. He'd take care of it. Well no matter. One thing though I am particularly interested in this Nelson. Could I see your master stock list master STARR Mr. Colton. We don't have anything like that. But I just checked right here on the monthly report of the company. But there's a master list and that is kept up to date. Oh well my goodness that doesn't mean anything that's just company policy. Mr. Jenkins says honestly that and anyway. Well he and Mr. Nisbet and Mr. Bartlett they just take turns putting check marks wherever they feel like it. Just dropped in to see how the stock room reorganization is going. Well to tell you the truth Mr cold it ain't gone. We never even got started. But

I don't understand we talked all this out on Thursday. It was you fellers idea to shift things around so it would be safer to get to things easier. It was your suggestion certainly yes sir no it wasn't. Well we thought we was for it. But then a couple of the boys well they mentioned it to Mr. Nesbitt and after they talked to him about it they could. Well I could see like he pointed out it was just going to be a lot of time and trouble for nothing. So all us boys got together and decided to leave or lay. And we've got orders on those panels that are practically yellow for major nets but some of them three four months old. Yeah I know we have. Well well that's the way the ball bounce and it doesn't have to be where is the hold up. Down the line that's where the trouble is. Parks piled up two or three places in the assembly room pileup while we shorthanded No but we've got a couple of men down there that are as young as they used to be fingers getting stiff. They don't work as fast as the other fellows.

Well why don't you try a rotation once or twice a day put the faster men on the pileup so it would show the slower ones up hurt their feelings. Bad for morale. Is it any worse for morale than knowing you're one of the ones who's bottlenecking the whole assembly line. Is it worse than having a half hour correspondents devoted to answering the same irate inquiries day after day after day. No I guess not. But but but but sometimes I think that's the watchword of this whole outfit. We can't manufacture metal products we're too busy manufacturing alibied. Colton speaking. Yes. Well who authorized it in this Nelson. You don't know who authorized it. Well who wrote it in the first place. I see. That's what our Mr. Jenkins would call folderol. Well then don't come to me about it Miss Nelson. My advice to you is just muddle on through it the way you've always done.

I was. Not in the building Mr. nest but not in the plant either. Look I've got to see. I've been trying for three days yes sir I know you have Mr. Bartlett and Mr. Jenkins that I've called all or even the warehouse. Well what does the secretary say. Has he been in today. Yes sir. Just for a little wallow. But he said he came in for just a little while and then you'd lie as well. Did you tell him that we've got these hurry up orders for construction that we can't even start on until we get his credit Okay. Yes sir she told him. And what did he say. Well I wouldn't want to repeat one of the words he said but it didn't seem like Mr. Cole at all. Betty Jo said she was really shocked. Never mind what Betty Jo said. What did he say. He said. I can't go along with you guys. I don't think he's cracking up and I don't think he's only

human. I think his mask is slipped. What do you mean Ed. It's like I told you what the first. Didn't I tell you those milk and honey words didn't mean anything. All I yap about wanting to do a mutual job better about coming in as a learner. That was just my wash and you talk about not blaming anybody. This last week he chewed everybody in the place out five or nine times on one of them. That's sure true. He took my head off about company morrow and poor oak or only Nelson. She's been in tears so much she looks like a piece of damp seaweed. And then this thing today. Last week you couldn't find him for sour owl jowls things could go hang for all he can now all of a sudden we got to have a conference. Big deal. Command performance on Tuesday. He knows what Tuesday is yes Mr. Jenkins I do know what Tuesday is like golf game of yours is the one consistent feature in our whole local operation. First one we've missed in five years something like that blood feud they we call it I know and it's a good name whether you're playing golf or getting together to talk things over like

this. Another little get acquainted session is it mystical. No no I think we know one another quite well enough by now to well if you really want to get brutal about it I don't think you're like you're not supposed to like it I'm wasted all those civil words and friendly overtures on you I'm going to Jenkins plain talk is your dish provided of course it's generously larded with outdated cliches. Now listen you know Graham you listen and you too Tom because for once the democratic process is going to go by the board. I'm the one who's going to do the talking. See What'd I tell you. This guy's a dictator at home. You know that's where you're wrong JENKINS At heart I'm a conscientious man trying to do a conscientious job in a spot where a conscientious job is not only a novelty it's a threat a threat. What kind of threat to everybody who snuggle down in this lush plush little bed of lethargy and futility you call a branch office. You know what they told me when I came here. They said The trouble here was the lack of enlightened aggressive leadership. Well it's not.

The trouble here is root rot. Utter and complete your arch examples of the most any factual or responsible management I've ever seen in my life. Because we jump every time you say frog Mr. Conan. No because you don't have pride enough in yourselves to like grown men to do the best you can of the job you've got. You not only content yourselves with mediocrity you glory in it you impose it on everybody around you anybody you want to string along with your shoddy second rate maneuvers will look out you're a fine trio you are and among you you have managed to make me madder than I've ever been before in my life and that you're something that is where do they teach you to do this. On what page of the handbook for company Stooges does it say. Well your pup is a good way to handle hired hands nowhere that doesn't. I have been trained against anger to avoid emotionalism like the plague and I tried I tried harder than I've ever tried it anything harder than it was smart or even healthy to try. You're not supposed to fight anger that hard Not if you're human.

Not when it's your answer to frustration and stagnation like this because if you don't like this kind of thing you're apt to join it. If you don't blast it away it's going to get you to like it was getting me all because I wouldn't face up to how mad I really was and what I was really mad at you and what you stand for and what you tried to do to me in the business I represent. Gee Larry this is all news to me. I didn't know you felt this way. No you didn't. And it would have been fairer to you if you had been fair to me too. I see all that now. There was a little poem My mother used to say to us kids. I wish I'd remembered it sooner. It said I was angry with my friend. I told my wrath my wrath did end. I was angry with my fold. I told it not my wrath did grow old. Well it grew all right I came mighty close to swamping me. But that's all over now I'm mad I'm good and mad and I'm telling it now I'm telling it right out loud a no holds barred.

Well good for you Mr. Colton and what's that supposed to mean in terms of us. I don't know that's up to you all I know is what it means in terms of me and let me tell you something gentlemen in case you have any doubts in terms of me it means plenty. Yes. We. Know to discuss anger. Here are Dr. Robert L. Sutherland director of the Hogg foundation for Mental Hygiene and Mr. Thomas H Moore assistant manager of industrial relations. The show Oil Company of New York. Well Tom this dramatization may surprise a few people Housewives. Some men from business because in both cases they have been taught to restrain their anger. To have a calm manner in dealing with children on the one hand and to have a

calm approach and reasonable way of dealing with them ploys on the other. And here we have a well-educated well experienced persons getting themselves into an emotional tassel. I just wonder what you think this means. Well certainly Colton in this dramatisation did suppress his anger. Anger is an interesting thing. My definition may not follow the dictionary but anger to me is a feeling that is aroused by a sense of resentment because of an act or because of a word or an expression. Well you mentioned the dictionary. I happen to have one right here and it does have some very good comments on what anger is. We could go on from here to many books in psychology and psychiatry but anger according to our good old authority begins as a strong emotion of displeasure but often there is an

element of antagonism in it and quite frequently there is another element a sense of injury a sense of insult and surely those factors came out in this case. Now I'm wondering in dealing with an emotion like this which has all these negative characteristics if we could say that anger ever has any value in human relations can you think of any possible value it would have in some instances. Certainly it must have at least a sort of value. It prompts a person to stop and think. Not always of course because anger is sometimes expressed in rather violent forms. Certainly the form of war the form of physical violence the Louden thoughtless words that are sometimes passed in an angry situation but word of the individual has been trained or has self disciplined himself. Anger sometimes causes him to

think in terms of water arouse this emotion. He tends to search out the facts. He looks for ways to correct the situation which caused the anger in the first instance. Or we might say we hope he does. We cannot say that a person can choose to be angry or not. It's one of these emotions that occurs. But if it occurs how can it be handled. Is there a constructive way. As opposed to a destructive way of handling this emotion. Well of course the most constructive way to handle anger would be to exercise some sort of positive thought in connection with the incident which arouse the anger. Let's take for example a person driving along the highway and your responsible driver passes and cuts in sharply in front of the person who is proceeding in a safe and sane fashion. A feeling of anger arises. Yes in most of us if we're human we wonder why the

individual was so thoughtless to cut us off. If the positive approach is used however and it is so used with the sane safe and sane driver he immediately thinks to himself I'm glad I'm not that sort of a driver. I have more sense I think of the safety of myself and certainly the person's writing with me. He has thus disposed of the momentary flash of anger he had by thinking in positive terms in this case the safety of the situation. In this dramatization would you say that cult handled his anger in a constructive way as was true of this audio illustration. You just gave. Not necessarily cotton was sent to this branch office to take over as a manager and as a manager he certainly must give thought to the individuals in his organization. The venting of anger

before a group of his key people certainly is not a constructive use of anger. Well now how might he have given vent to his righteous indignation. Well early in the drama he had an occasion to talk to bark about. He had the impression that Bartlett was a sensible person. And there is some indication that he thought he might have potentialities perhaps as a manager. Unfortunately although he was slightly angry in the situation he did not issue a positive instruction which would tell Bartlet how he felt about the matter. Or rather what he expected him to do knowing his feelings about the lack of production. You would say then that timing is rather important. If one does have this feeling of resentment and anger and displeasure based on antagonism and a sense of insult and injustice. Well what about it.

Should he show it now or should he hold it back or should he say that it's an undignified emotion and not admit he has it. Well certainly anger is to be avoided Bob wherever that be possible. As to timing that will depend entirely upon his judgment of the individual involved who gave rise to the anger. Certainly he would not want to give anger give vent to his anger concerning an individual in front of many of the individuals fellow employees that had best be done in the privacy of his own office. All right. In the constructive use of this emotion and this is a tough one because here we are dealing with a negative emotion. You have wasted two or three points or maybe more. You said first that this emotion should not be vented in public. But if you have resentment against a person deal with him as a person not as a member of an audience as was done in this case you

also said the timing was rather important. Are there any other ways to deal with anger constructively or any other conditions. Or let's ask this question still more. How in advance of some emotional situation like this can a person size up others as individuals in order that he will deal with them on a personal basis instead of just blowing off at them. Well certainly in the case of a manager he is observing his people as frequently as time permits. Now I think possibly the same applies in many other human relationships including the family. A wise parent understands the reactions and feelings and degree of sensitivity of children of husband or wife. Consequently if a situation occurs which gives vent to or which produces anger in a certain member of the family it would seem that that person could at least have sufficient

control to express that emotion in ways which would be constructive. On the other hand we recognize that repressing it. Pretending that nothing ever happened. Pretending that full love without any interruption was still characteristic of the human relationship we now feel look that is unnecessary suppression that people should be honest. We say they all should be honest with their ideas but now we're saying they should be honest with their emotions. They shouldn't cork bad emotions but when they've got them they should show them honestly but with discretion is what you say on the basis of timing sizing up the individual and. Dealing with the other person in private rather than public whenever possible. Now you mentioned something a while ago that intrigues me. You said that anger is to be avoided because it is a negative emotion. Is it possible to court calmness. Is it possible in human relations you come from industry from the industrial relations department of one of the great oil companies.

Is it possible in a management conference to create an atmosphere which will be conducive to calmness and thinking rather than to emotional expression and anger. We certainly think so by the spirit of calmness and the tone of calmness certainly permits all the participants in the conference or in a two party session to get at the facts of the situation. If permits were appropriate the use of constructive criticism and the acceptance of such constructive criticism it quite obviously promotes the saying of the other persons point of view. We began this dramatization with one of the statements from the play itself that forces universally at work in the minds of men are a part of the objective of this series. The portrayal of such forces. And certainly we have dealt with one of the most difficult which normally would require clinical study. The expert advice of the psychiatrist and psychologist. But it also has a

problem with which we deal. People who are parents people who are employers people who are leaders in all kinds of relationships every day and we come to the conclusion as the dramatization itself did that possibly one of the constructive uses of it is to admit we have it quite honestly. I told my RAF that doesn't solve the problem but at least it gets it out in the open. And then we can deal with it constructively. And Tom has given us some marvelous suggestions as to the constructive uses of this emotion which normally we think of as purely negative. I told my rath one of a series of explorations into effective living titled the minds of men. A presentation of radio television at the University of Texas taking part in the discussion in today's broadcast. Dr. Robert L. Sutherland director of the Hogg foundation for Mental Hygiene and Thomas H more assistant manager of industrial relations. The show Oil

Company of New York. These programs were prepared for broadcast under the supervision of Robert F.. Going to. National Music by Eleanor Paige. Jim Morris was heard of Lawrence Colton. The series narrator moves on long. Empty cork speaking. This program is distributed by the National Association of educational broadcasters. This is the B Radio Network.