In both professional and personal life it is better to avoid the”yes men’’ because they have a pest effect on your life and they are a worst nightmare. Yes people never tell the truth, they talk what you want to hear, if you are of importance to them. Yes, they are smart as they can read the mind. If you have more yes people working for you, it can turn into a nightmare someday. Yes people will never tell you the whole narration as it is, they will twist the details and just finally say “yes” to whatever you say. Their aimless affirming only adds to your vulnerability. Yes people are not trustworthy because they will never suggest a different opinion. They never bring ideas to table.
But, most leaders want to be surround with people who actually like them and appreciate their leadership, this is an implicit fact. But yes-men do not surround a leader because of friendliness or affection. Yes-men crop up out of apprehension. They do not actually care for the individual to whom they say yes always, they have no loyalties to the team or the organization. They don’t care about the success of an individual or organization. The idea about successfully moving forward does not appeal to them, the loss of a bad idea and its damage does not concern them. These spineless guys won’t try to stop the loss occurring out a bad idea. If you are surrounded by more yes guys, their visible amiability makes it even more difficult for an opposing voice to arise from fewer team members. Even in your personal life if you are surrounded by such pests who say yes to all ideas and actions of yours, think twice. They will never stop you from doing something really stupid.
Yes men and women follow a certain predictable pattern; in a group if two strong people exist, these guys will watch the trend and support the stronger guy. These people implement blindly without using their brains. They only do what they’re told to do. They never think strategically, because they are least concerned with strategies. Always remember that you need at least few people who have courage to point out flaws in your decision making.
According to one historical anecdote Field Marshal, Sam Manekshaw said that there is a very thin line between being dismissed and becoming a Field Marshal. In April 1971, when Pakistan cracked down in East Pakistan, hundreds and thousands of refugees started pouring into India, in West Bengal, Assam and Tripura. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi held a Cabinet meeting in her office in which the External Affairs Minister Sardar Swaran Singh, the Agriculture Minister, Mr. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad, the Defence Minister, Babu Jagjivan Ram and the Finance Minister, Yashwant Rao Chavan were present. Indira Gandhi summoned Manekshaw urgently. .
A very angry, grim-faced Prime Minister read out the telegrams from the Chief Ministers of West Bengal, Assam and Tripura. She then turned around to Manekshaw and asked him what he would do about the situation; she wanted him to war with Pakistan. Manekshaw answered her question with all harsh facts: it was the end of April, in which the Himalayan passes open, hence there could be an attack from China, two of his armoured division and two infantry divisions were away, one in the Jhansi area, the other in Samba and the third one in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. He would require all the road space, all the railway wagons, the entire railway system to move the war formations to the operational areas. During the April/May it is harvesting season in the Punjab and UP, and since harvesting was in progress, they would not be able to move the harvest which would rot and create a famine situation. His armoured division, which was the biggest striking force was supposed to have 189 tanks operational, whereas he had only 11 tanks that were fit to fight. The rains were about to start in East Pakistan and when it rains there, it pours and when it pours, the whole countryside is flooded. The snows are melting, the rivers would become like oceans. If someone stands on one bank, he can’t see the other. In such a situation, all movement would be confined to roads. The Air Force, because of climatic conditions would not be able to support the army.
Manekshaw had guts: he pointed at the shortcomings in decision making of all ministers who were present in the meeting; decision making requires farsightedness and also practical move towards goals. Manekshaw put the plain facts before the Prime Minister and her cabinet ministers. Indira Gandhi called off the meeting, the ministers left, she asked Manekshaw to stay back. Gandhi asked him whether all that he said was true, he told her “Yes! It is my job to tell you the truth, and it is my job to fight, it is my job to fight to win and therefore, I have to tell you the truth.”
Courage comes in many characters, shapes, sizes and forms. Indira Gandhi gave her army chief the time he wanted to elaborate his strategy. Seven months and four days later the war began when Pakistan president Gen. Yahya Khan lost patience and ordered his forces to attack Indian troops near the border on the evening of August 3, 1971. Manekshaw had by then amassed two brigades within the border for going in the next day. Thirteen days later Bangladesh was born marking one of the high points in Indian diplomacy: in nine months the country was able to isolate the US, bring Western Europe on to our side and win over the world media.
One of the difficult things to do in life is saying no to an important person or something. Often, people believe that saying no can be considered as rude or unsocial on their part. But, not being able to say ‘’no’’ leads to greatest losses many times and distracts priories.
