Intelligent Disobedience: Doing Right When What You're Told to Do Is Wrong

To some Intelligent Disobedience might feel like surprising stings as when, in one of Mr Chaleff’s stories, the lieutenant told the Colonel, “That’s BS, Sir”. To others, it will be the wonder of possibility that comes from finding the secret, camouflaged doorways in barrier walls. Doing the right thing is not always as simple as it looks. The right thing is usually multiple threads of doing, woven into a tapestry of time that looks different depending on which side you stand and how far away your perspective takes you. “Intelligent Disobedience” takes you through a journey of examples of multiple angles and perspectives, that helps you stand back and ponder...that gives you the opportunity to learn vicariously from others’ experiences. Leading and following is a constant ebb and flow we are all engaged in within our outer lives and inner selves. This ebb and flow surges in the edge of chaos (of chaos theory) and requires a lot of effort to keep creative possibility rooted in the earth of truth where it can be nurtured. In “Intelligent Disobedience” Mr Chaleff helps us identify possibilities of creativity “to do the right thing when what we are told to do is wrong”. I had the blessing of spending some time with Ira Chaleff, sharing conversation, and letting his wisdom form connections to my own wandering thoughts. I had read his earlier book, "Courageous Follower" and found resonance there, but when he mentioned Intelligent Disobedience, the brilliance of “Yes!!” was uncovered. From Aesop’s fables to Star Trek, from fiction of Harry Potter to realities of “We Were Soldiers Once...and Young”, and throughout my life of trying to follow and learning to lead, I found the truths of Intelligent Disobedience had walked with me. I just wish I would have had the opportunity to understand more clearly and earlier in my life, Ira’s “algorithms of obedience” as well as the “balancing algorithm of Intelligent Disobedience” that he describes. This book is full of stories of Intelligent Disobedience that I am not sure I would have had the courage to replicate had I been in that role. Much of our “domestication” (that Don Miguel Ruiz talks about in his “Four Agreements”) prevents us from hearing the call of the “inner self” that Mr Chaleff refers to as fundamental to Intelligent Disobedience. For me, Intelligent Disobedience is not a treatise, it is now one of my life manuals that gets dog-eared, passages highlighted, wisdom underlined, and pages marked up with questions, comments, and memory links to other works and thoughts. Intelligent Disobedience is one of those books that could be, and should be, the foundation for courses and learning interventions in K-12 and all the other education and training we go through for professional and personal lives. It should be a recognized component of all of our personal understanding and critical thinking. From the “crucial lessons of guide dog training”, thru the “price of teaching obedience too well”, to the “elements of teaching Intelligent Disobedience training”, Mr Chaleff takes us on a journey of introspective learning. The premise of Intelligent Disobedience feeds the light of truth, helping us to be more resilient, when we inevitably bump against the darkness. “Intelligent Disobedience” is a practical guide for anyone interested in effective leadership, courageous followership, or just pilgriming through everyday life in conversations with ourselves. Buy “Intelligent Disobedience” and let it simmer with you. You may not agree with everything, but some wisdom therein will touch you, and I'll bet you will vibrate with some new knowing and understanding.

On September 26, 1983, Stanislav Petrov, the "Man Who Saved The World", was the duty officer at the command center for the Soviet nuclear early-warning system when a missile, followed up to five more, were reported to be launched from the United States. Petrov judged the report to be a false alarm, and his decision is credited with having prevented an erroneous retaliatory nuclear attack that could have resulted in large-scale nuclear war. Investigation later confirmed that the satellite warning system had indeed malfunctioned. Petrov's action is a supreme example of Intelligent Disobedience. Intelligent Disobedience: Doing Right When What You're Told To Do Is Wrong by Ira Chaleff is not about Stanislav Petrov. Instead Chaleff constructs a lesson plan with many examples from the past (Nuremburg, Milgram, WorldCom, 9/11) and present (Seeing Eye Dog, TSA, Primary Education). I was impressed that the foreword was written by Dr. Philip Zimbardo, the creator of the Stanford Prison Experiment. The author does an excellent job connecting the anecdote from the preface - how to train guide dogs NOT to obey a command, which is a higher order skill - to the rest of the book. In particular, he addresses the concern that in the US we have institutionalized a system of authority and obedience from an early age that discourages intelligent disobedience. Chapter 11 - Doing Right at Work: Saving Lives and Accomplishing Missions - resonated most with me. This chapter includes sections on Overcoming Barriers and Creative Intelligent Disobedience. This chapter alone could be a Executive Leadership course in my opinion, and the ten key elements at the end are excellent. Let me quote #9: Value and encourage the creative use of Intelligent Disobedience to counteract a culture descending into a learned helplessness that stifles innovation and self-correction. In summary, I highly recommend this latest book by Ira Chaleff.

Saying no can be a good thing; yet there may be an art to doing it. This book looks at the times when it is absolutely correct and possibly essential to disobey “inappropriate orders” or otherwise cut risks. It was an interesting read, particularly noting the source of the inspiration for the book and its title since it came from a method of guide dog training. When you think about it, it makes sense. A guide dog must at times go against the orders of its master in order to protect the person who cannot see a source of danger. Yet why do we often fail to do the same sort of proactive disobedience in our own life when things are likely to go wrong? Instead, the temptation to follow orders can be great. The author summarises the concept as this: “If we distil Intelligent Disobedience down to a formula, it would look something like this: 1. Understand the mission of the organization or group, the goals of the activity of which you are a part, and the values that guide how to achieve those goals. 2. When you receive an order that does not seem appropriate to the mission, goals, and values, clarify the order as needed, then pause to further examine the problem with it, whether that involves its safety, effectiveness, cultural sensitivity, legality, morality, or common decency. 3. Make a conscious choice whether to comply with the order or to resist it and offer an acceptable alternative when there is one. 4. Assume personal accountability for your choice, recognizing that if you obey the order, you are still accountable regardless of who issued the order.” It need not necessarily require a radical change or a shouting match. It might just be a case of stating your case and reasoning and letting the person in charge take the decision. It can also give them space to manoeuvre, save face, and allows them to “reconsider” matters. The core sentiments of the book can be applied almost anywhere, when things just don’t feel right and warning lights may be flashing. The author gives advice about identifying a problem and helps empower the reader to taking what might be the best overall decision, even if it doesn’t feel it at the time and neither is the opposition necessarily welcome. The author does not pretend that disobedience is necessarily easy or something to do half-heartedly, but then again swimming against the tide is not easy either, but sometimes it has to be done. All in all it was a different, engaging book that added value to a complex picture.

When should you disobey an order or command from a senior or authority? Short answer: When you have a better grasp of the situation and the potentially damaging (economically, culturally, morally, etc.) effects of the order than does the issuer of that order. Long answer: This lucid and very well-written book on the subject by Mr. Chaleff. In his book Mr. Chaleff makes a very persuasive case for instilling true responsibility for our actions, whether ordered to perform them or not, and outlines many possible and workable approaches to accomplish this end. Written in a comfortable and conversational style, the book is a joy to read, while it also delivers its message clearly and convincingly. Anyone who has faced the dilemma of whether or not to obey will benefit from this guided journey through the territory; and any authority or senior who has suffered the chagrin of having a wrong directive blindly carried out by well-meaning juniors—much to everybody’s embarrassment or sorrow—will here recognize the resolution to such problems.

This is a neat book that helps you comprehend some of the most difficult dilemmas - where you’re torn between compliance and moral disobedience. The author provides some insightful answers. This might be a good framework in todays world where ethics issues can be caused by AI technology.

This is a refreshing look at a significant problem that affects all organizations and superior-subordinate relationships. The pressure to "go along," "be loyal," and "do as you're told" causes serious, often deadly, problems. Yet we seldom teach the skills people need to resist in a productive way. Ira Chaleff's use of "intelligent disobedience" in guide dog training as an example and as a metaphor is powerful. His focus on how "following orders" is hammered into children in schooling and thus a key problem to be overcome is an important reminder that our tendency to obey is acquired early in life. This book is well-written and easy to follow, yet profound in its lessons.

Chaleff writes with vigor and clarity about one of the most under-appreciated skills a person can possess — the ability to disobey in service of higher ideals. He makes the undeniable connection between many of the greatest evils perpetrated throughout history and blind obedience. Counterintuitively, it is not those who cannot follow the rules that have done the most damage but those who do follow the rules without the ability to think critically. The concept itself is eye opening, but Cheleff goes the necessary step further to show readers how to develop the tools to be intelligently disobedient and to teach it to others. It's a must read for the conscious leader and for the empowered follower.

Intelligent Disobedience: Doing Right When What You're Told To Do Is Wrong by Ira Chaleff is about finding the healthy balance for living in a system with rules and authorities while maintaining our own responsibility for the actions we take. He makes a very persuasive case for instilling true responsibility for our actions, whether ordered to perform them or not, and outlines many possible and workable approaches to accomplish this end. The author does an excellent job connecting the anecdote from the preface - how to train guide dogs NOT to obey a command, which is a higher order skill - to the rest of the book. In particular, he addresses the concern that in the US we have institutionalized a system of authority and obedience from an early age that discourages intelligent disobedience. The book is well researched, well written and presents us with very relevant questions. It is written in a comfortable and conversational style that makes it a joy to read while it also delivers its message clearly and convincingly.