Start with why

Just Because It Works Doesn’t Make It Right
The danger of manipulations is that they work. And because manipulations
work, they have become the norm, practiced by the vast majority of companies
and organizations, regardless of size or industry. That fact alone creates a
systemic peer pressure. With perfect irony, we, the manipulators, have been
manipulated by our own system. With every price drop, promotion, fear-based or
aspirational message, and novelty we use to achieve our goals, we find our
companies, our organizations and our systems getting weaker and weaker.
The economic crisis that began in 2008 is just another, albeit extreme,
example of what can happen if a flawed assumption is allowed to carry on for
too long. The collapse of the housing market and the subsequent collapse of the
banking industry were due to decisions made inside the banks based on a series
of manipulations. Employees were manipulated with bonuses that encouraged
shortsighted decision-making. Open shaming of anyone who spoke out
discouraged responsible dissent. A free flow of loans encouraged aspiring
homebuyers to buy more than they could afford at all price levels. There was
very little loyalty. It was all a series of transactional decisions—effective, but at
a high cost. Few were working for the good of the whole. Why would they?—
there was no reason given to do so. There was no cause or belief beyond instant
gratification. Bankers weren’t the first to be swept up by their own success.
American car manufacturers have conducted themselves the same way for
decades—manipulation after manipulation, short-term decision built upon short-
term decision. Buckling or even collapse is the only logical conclusion when
manipulations are the main course of action.
The reality is, in today’s world, manipulations are the norm.
But there is an alternative.

---