Facets Improve Standards

Division of responsibility is important for security. Whether handling personal finances, hiring several employees or working as part of the community; never give one person too much power. Multiple peoples working as a team with overlapping responsibilities builds psychological and physical defenses.

Imagine winning the lottery and suddenly owning a lot of money. A money manager wants to become a proxy with full responsibility of your money. They can buy, sell or hire whomever they want. We hope they are a responsible and intelligent person who will act in our best interests; however, it is easy to become corrupt or insecure when plans vary from course. Reputation depends on being successful. How many losses would you take before asking for help? Would you think bigger risks equally bigger gains?

When several people work together they verify the quality of work. This encourages honesty and a higher level of performance. Think of owning a home. The financial planner estimated taxes then the financial planner estimated paycheck deductions to afford mortgage payments, home insurance and property taxes. The lawyer looks over contracts and addresses liability issues to create a variable amount for petty cash and repairs. Everyone's work is double checked and then triple check by the owner, who gains the most from the house.

Now we guard the house and ourselves from liability. A family limited partnership guards from liability, but what about the physical house. Is security effective with one person? If a crook broke into the home there is only one obstacle to overcome, the security guard. Not only does the security guard become a target for violence when restrained they cannot call the police. The crook can wear a mask, cover camera lens or erase any video footage of them. People in the home are in danger, because of limited witnesses. Preferably they hide; however, once the criminal has left the premises they will probably never get caught.

Adding offsite security increases the chances of robbers getting caught. Web cams make it possible for offsite personnel to call the police. They also have video footage in a safe area. Blocking cameras could be problematic; however, if multiple people are able to watch live video from various areas, when signal is disrupted several people report the crime. Multiple witnesses increase chances of arresting robbers.

The more people know about an issue, it is handled in an appropriate manner. Think about running a club. People working there admit people into the club, serve drinks and maintain security. They have to be in mutual agreement or use stealth to embezzle from the club. Several levels of management help. One person accepts the cover charge, while someone else counts the number of people. The number of people times the cover charge should equal what is in the till. Working together, it would not be difficult to simply not count a few people and keep the money or let friends in for free. This is an acceptable level, because incidents are minimized. An electronic counter increases standards when estimating the amount in the till by dividing the whole number in half, because anyone who enters the clubs must leave. Yet a person could say many people left and returned later.

A common mistake when trying to reach a goal is taking credit for everything. Someone else getting credit for their work is awful; however, when working towards a belief like protecting friends, establishing a stronger community, feeding the homeless, or establishing a nature preserve it does it matter who is given credit. When the creative or inventive person shares information, they may feel less special, yet the continuity of the group is preserved beyond one lifetime or generation. Now several people have the same knowledge making them stronger. Another group acting against or threatening the organization is unable to collapse efforts by targeting individuals. The creative, inventive person loses personal leverage, but gains personal safety.

Another problem with keeping valuable information secret is fear. Fear makes it so ideas remain in one person's mind. These thoughts are never realized, because they are only one person. Registering ideas and inventions is a great way to protect ideas. The legality of registrations means no matter who tries to claim credit, if the idea becomes substantial the originator will be given credit. If it was used for making money the originator is also entitled to a monetary reward.

Division of responsibilities is against human nature. We desire to be unique and special even when life is enriched by sharing responsibility. Pressure is alleviated. There is more time to learn from and help another person. One more person earned a living from preparing your taxes. Talk to multiple real-estate agents to find out if they have different listed prices on the same home. Hire an inspector to estimate the cost of maintaining a home. What people lack in money, is made up for with time by doing it yourself. As Wendell Berry said, "Time is money."

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