The Leap: The Science of Trust and Why It Matters by Ulrich Boser

The Leap: The Science of Trust and Why It Matters by Ulrich Boser

Author:Ulrich Boser [Boser, Ulrich]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New Harvest
Published: 2014-09-16T00:00:00+00:00


In Ovid’s epic poem Metamorphoses, Ajax is a man of grit and strength, of muscle and devotion. He is the most athletic, most loyal soldier in the Greek army, and Ajax believes that because of his size and steadfastness, he deserves one of the most treasured prizes of the Trojan War, the precious armor of Achilles. The issue, as philosopher Paul Woodruff describes in his book The Ajax Dilemma, is that Ajax has to compete against Odysseus.9 Wily and inventive, smart and slick, Odysseus is the man who figures out a way past both Scylla and Charybdis. Odysseus, then, is the charming brain to Ajax’s loyal brawn, and he wants the precious armor, too.

King Agamemnon has Ajax and Odysseus each give a speech in front of a panel of judges, arguing his case. But it’s already too late, according to Woodruff. In a battle of words, Ajax is doomed. He stands no chance, and the prize goes to the brainy Odysseus, while Ajax feels deeply betrayed. For years, Ajax has been a devoted warrior. He saved the life of the king. He once even rescued Odysseus from death. As Ovid writes, Ajax is “conquered by his sorrow,” and the warrior eventually impales himself on his sword, killing himself.10

We live in a world of high-stakes competitions. Like Ajax and Odysseus, we compete for salaries, we compete for partners, we compete for friends. But landing the rewards—the money, the fame, the suits of armor—is often a tricky business. It would be nice, of course, for society to recognize the efforts of everyone equally. But we also want to highlight the aces, the top performers, the Odysseuses. And, by their nature, rewards are scarce.

On the one side, it’s clear that Odysseus should win the armor. He is the inventive genius. His work is a matter of superior imagination, and without Odysseus’s idea for the Trojan horse, the Greeks might still be laying siege to Troy. Still, when society’s Ajaxes see the prizes always going to the Odysseuses, they feel hoodwinked, as Woodruff told me when I reached him in his office at the University of Texas. They’ve worked hard. They’ve been loyal. What’s their reward? In the end, no system can function without an Ajax. He ensures that the work gets done. He sticks with you when times are tough. But as Woodruff told me, Ajax might be replaceable, but if you lose too many, an organization will fall apart.

Woodruff calls this the Ajax Dilemma, and the message is simple: Fairness alone isn’t enough. Leaders also have to create a feeling of community, and that is where things went so wrong for Ajax. The contest between him and Odysseus was based on clear rules. Odysseus didn’t cheat. Odysseus wasn’t dishonest. But the process gave Ajax no meaningful way out, as Woodruff suggests. The loyal soldier had no way to feel pride, to feel part of something bigger, so he took his own life. “Justice is what ought to have kept Ajax on the



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