IT and life

A quote from an IT news letter I receive monthly. I have been following Bob Lewis for a few years because his writting and articles really hit home for me. They are written in a way that speaks directly to the rational side of my brain. This was in the latest article that uses an analogy to show how to manage employees through accountability.

.. the universe imposes consequences for bad choices. It does so automatically, through the operation of various physical, social, and legislated laws. When adults make poor choices, such as smoking several packs of cigarettes a day, they experience the consequences because that's what happens.

That's why parents create artificial consequences. By doing so we hope our children will acquire the habit of making good decisions, thereby avoiding the universe's much harsher consequences. This works when they're young. But by the time they become teenagers, our ability to teach through the imposition of artificial consequences becomes more and more limited. Real ones take over.