Exit, Voice, Persist or Neglect
In his book Originals, Adam Grant talks about the 4 choices people have when handling a dissatisfying situation (think boring job, failing marriage or even as simple as a heated argument) - exit, voice, persist and neglect.
Exit - Exit means removing yourself from the situation altogether. This could mean quitting your job, ending your marriage or just walking out on a heated argument.
Voice - Voice involves actively trying to improve the situation - voicing your concerns and following it up with necessary actions.
Persist - Persistence is gritting your teeth and bearing the situation. You’ve already accepted that the situation sucks but you’ve decided to go through with it.
Neglect - Neglect entails staying in the current situation but reducing your involvement in it. This could mean just doing just enough at work not to get fired.
Control vs Commitment
The 4 options can be seen as a trade-off between control (Do you believe you can effect change?) and commitment (Do you care enough to try?).
If you feel you can’t make a difference, then you would choose to persist if you’re committed and you’d neglect if you aren’t. If you feel you can make a difference, then you would choose to voice if you’re committed and you’d quit if you aren’t.
The Originals are the committed individuals who think they can make a difference!
source - Originals by Adam Grant
Kaushik Rangadurai
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