Good Fences Make Good Neighbors, Compound Barbed Wire Leads to Mistrust

In a world filled with distrust, anger, and fear, it’s only common sense to protect ourselves. In rural America, if you own a piece of property, you put a fence around it. If you have a large piece of property with sections far from your house, you may even put a private property sign on the fence. For those of strong moral character, or even moderate moral character, this is enough to dissuade any type of trespassing or vandalism. This is not in small part due to the unspoken understanding that these items are simply a notice that, if violated, will result in consequences. The form of these consequences is completely region-specific, but it is commonly understood that this is the case.

For those of low moral character, they are going to do what they like. The fence is really just to determine the motivation of the individual. If you have a well-maintained fence with a private property sign and someone crosses it, they have done so intentionally, and the appropriate outcome is warranted. The fence and sign prevent accidental trespassing. Hence, the old saying, good fences make good neighbors because they prevent misunderstandings.

Occasionally, you will have someone who feels the need to put a compound-style barbed wire fence around their property, like a prison. My understanding of this is that they intend to absolutely prevent anyone from coming on the property, so they keep building bigger and stronger fences to keep everyone out, and it does. It keeps everyone out. No one wants to come visit you at your home if you have a giant barbed wire fence around it.

While the compound fence may achieve the goal of keeping everyone out, it also fuels the fire of distrust among your neighbors. They start to whisper about what you might be hiding, what kinds of nefarious agendas you have planned. After all, it is a common understanding that if you have nothing to hide, all you need is a fence.

The same principle applies to organizations. It is prudent to have a fence to protect intellectual property, resources, and assets. It’s reasonable to require references for new hires and background checks, depending on the industry. Not everyone in an organization needs permissions to access everything in a system.

However, the compound barbed wire version of organizational security comes into effect when you make decisions out of fear, not balance. For example, locking down systems to the extreme that customer service professionals cannot meet customers’ needs, restricting your applicant process to referrals from people you already know, or filling your procedures with an overabundance of no statements. I recently consulted with an organization whose specified audience was the public. However, they only want to work with volunteers who have been recommended by the internal chain of command at the organization. In other words, if you have an amazing skill set and want to volunteer your time, but are not friends with someone they already know, you can’t volunteer. An odd decision for an organization aimed at doing good for everyone, definitely a metaphorical barbed wire fence.  

I recently self-published a book (if you are interested, you can learn more here). When I was ready to launch my book, I looked around for a local bookstore to collaborate with, an organization that could be the first bookstore to have my book. I was specific in my quest. I wanted a locally owned organization with positive energy and a people-centered approach. I heard about a store that had a reputation for supporting local indie authors, so I inquired. When I looked at the author information, the request form was filled with no statements, don’t submit during this time, don’t send us your book, don’t come talk to us at the store, if you make us do any legwork, we won’t accept you. They stated it was because they had been inundated with self-published authors. It was a clear example of organizational compound barbed wire. In case you’re wondering, I didn’t inquire further.

The result of organizational barbed wire is the same as around a piece of property. It achieves the goal of keeping everyone out and creates an impression of skepticism from anyone who might engage with the organization.