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Gaffer Variety:
Doctor Lee Thargic 034:
By Willie Gaffer:
April 3, 2006:

Recently, while I was having dinner in the Shady Side Tavern, I met and interesting fellow. His name is Doctor Lee Thargic. He is a psychiatrist from China who specializes in the field of over response and treatment thereof. He had me intrigued and I asked if he would grant me and interview for my readers. A very personable man, he agreed at once. Thereupon I ordered a few bottles of Tsing Tau and we retire to a small booth in the rear of the Shady Side. After we had a few sips to loosen us up, I began.

"You said your specialty is over response doctor. I have never heard of that before. Can you give me a general description of what it is."
"Of course, Mr. Gaffer. I will be happy to elaborate."
"Please just call me Willie," I offered.
"Just so," said the doctor, "and you should call me Lee."
"Thank you, Lee." I replied. "Now, about over response."
"It is a new field of psychiatric investigation and treatment developed by myself," he said proudly.
"Aha!" I remarked. "That is why I have not heard of it before. It is a new branch of psychology, particularly in America."
"Exactly, Willie. I am the only practitioner in America and I only have a few associates and students in China. We are just beginning to grow."
"Wow, did I ever luck out on this," I exulted. "I'll be the first to report on it."
"But not the last, Willie. I expect my new psychology will become a worldwide movement before long."
"Holy cow!" I exploded. "Weill it help a lot of people?"
"That is the idea," he replied. "Right now I am working with a group of executives from a local company. I expect to help all of them."
"Why executives," I asked.
"First, executives are the ones most likely to suffer from over response, but also, they are willing to pay a lot of money for my seminars."
"I guess that's important," I said.
"Damn right," said the doctor. "Someone's got to pay for my lifestyle."
"Might as well be executives," I remarked.
"Sure, and they will get value received for the investment."
"Tell me about your system of treatment," I begged.
"For sure, but it's not exactly treatment" he said. "Here is the thing Willie. We know a large number of men, and women too now, are suffering early deaths due to stroke and heart attacks."
"Yes, I've read about that," I said.
"As did I, and I asked myself, what is the cause of this development?"
"What did you find?"
"Well," said the doctor. "We have always thought these things are stress related."
"People under stress are likely to have strokes and heart attacks," I reasoned.
"Yes, but that is only a part of it." he added. "Some people under stress do not have those reactions."
"Why?" I blurted.
"It is all about how we handle stress, Willie. It is about response."
Aha," I said. "Not stress, but over response is the cause?"
"Exactly, Willie. Some people, most people, just get too up tight."
"And you have developed a treatment for that?"
"As I said, it's not exactly a treatment. It's not like we can just fix someone up like giving pills for a headache. Not at all."
"What is it then?"
"It is about education, about how to live."
"A lifestyle change then," I said.
"In a way," replied the doctor. "The lifestyle change does come, but as a result of understanding."
"You retrain people?" I asked.
In a way, I do. I teach people how to make decisions and how to not give a damn."
"Not give a damn?" I queried.
"You shouldn't drink and try to listen at the same time, Willie. I said, I teach people to not give a damn. That's what I meant."
"Sorry," I said. "You just surprised me."
"Yes. A lot pf people are surprised when they hear that. You should see how a corporate manager reacts when I tell him he shouldn't give a damn."
"I can imagine," I laughed."Here is a guy who is responsible for millions, maybe billions, of bucks and you tell him, don't give a damn?"
"That is the crux of it, Willie."
"How can they do that?"
"It's just a matter of understanding," said Lee.
"How so?"
"The thing is, these guys, and women, got to understand that it doesn't matter what they do."
"I can't believe my ears," I blurted.
"Like I said, Willie. Stop drinking while you listen. It doesn't matter what they do."
"But their job would not get done," I complained.
"That is the big error," said Lee.
"Huh?"
"I did not say they should not do their jobs. I said it doesn't matter what they do so they should not give a damn."
"But it does matter, Lee. If they make mistakes the company could go down the drain."
"Bullshit, Willie. They make mistakes all the time, everyday!"
"No!" I blurted."
"Yes," shouted Lee.
I looked over my shoulder to see if we were disturbing anyone and we both quieted down.
"Every day? I asked."
"Damn right! Here's the facts most people like to ignore. A good executive has a batting average of about 50 percent for his decisions. That's a good executive and there aren't very many of them."
"A good executive is wrong half the time?" I asked.
"Put down the bottle, Willie. I have done the research. I have collected the data. Most executive decisions are at least partly wrong."
"Holy cow," I whispered.
Yes, Willie. Holy cow indeed. In truth I was surprised too."
"How do they stay in business?" I wondered.
"I learned that too. They stay in business for two reasons. One is because workers who know better ignore the bigshots, but also because everything moves so slow there is time to recover from blunders."
"Blunders?"
"Let me tell you, Willie. In my research, I found some huge blunders. Some never got implemented because the workers ignored them and some got fixed before the disaster."
"So the workers, save the company."
"Usually, not always. Sometimes they don't get the chance and the outfit goes down."
"That must be from really bad managers," I remarked.
"Yes, some can't be helped, but most can if they only listen to me."
"So, how do you help them, exactly?" I asked.
"I use the data I collected to make a game for them."
"I have heard that games can be useful in a learning environment."
"For sure. The game I made is to show them it doesn't matter."
"It doesn't matter what they do," I said.
"Exactly. I just give them a situation from history where I already know the right choice and the wrong choice. It is usually a situation with only two choices. Then they must make a choice and write it down. Then I collect their choices."
"You collect them?" I asked.
"Got to do it," said Lee. There is no one can cheat like an executive. I collect the choices to keep them honest."
"Then what?"
"Then I just flip a coin to get a random choice."
"How does that work out," I asked.
"When we check it all out for a lot of cases the educated executive decision is no better than the random choice. The fact is, they could flip a coin and do just as well as their educated decisions."
"That's the truth?"
"That's the truth."
"How do they react to that?" I wondered.
"At first they are angry. They want to lynch me, but there are too many witnesses. Then they are embarrassed and defensive. Finally they settle down. They are feeling very humble."
"I can imagine," I said.
"Then they start to rationalize and that's when I have to guide them."
"For their own good?"
"For sure, and for my pay too. I get them to understand that 50 percent is not bad and their workers will save them anyway if they give them a chance."
"How long does this take, Lee?"
"I usually require twenty full day sessions with any group."
"That's grueling," I remarked.
"For sure," he said. "That's why I'm here. I have to do it all over again tomorrow with these a-holes."
"I can dig it," I laughed. "Twenty days with executives. Tough! What is the final outcome."
"For most of them, they make a nice change of attitude and live a more comfortable life."
"They just don't give a damn anymore?"
"Actually, they do, Willie. Its just that they know what matters and what doesn't. They give more damn about their kids and homes and the good things like what we are dong now. They give less damn about the decisions they make because they can stop pretending they have control when they really don't."
"So they change their life to focus on what really matters."
"You got it, Willie."
"It's a damn shame they have to be taught that."
"For sure, when you and I knew it all along."
I laughed and went to the bar to get a few more Tsing Taus. Might as well enjoy the evening.
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