Only You Can Prevent Redline Rage
You may not like it, but Dr Phil is right: only YOU can prevent Redline Rage.
They did a study once.
They went to a college and asked kids to do a survey.
Some kids were offered $7 to do the survey.
72% of them said OK.
Other kids were offered $8 to do the survey...
BUT they were also told a harmless lie: that other kids were offered $10 to do the survey.
The results?
Even though some kids were offered more money ($8 v $7), only 54% agreed to do the survey.
The takeaway?
If we feel that we're being treated unfairly, it changes our behavior.
So what does this have to do with redlining?
I saw an agreement once with a standard autorenewal clause.
No big deal, right?
But then the agreement went on and on, over multiple sentences, emphasizing how there would absolutely be NO REFUNDS, no matter what, and I'd be autorenewed and charged even if my notice of nonrenewal was just 1 day late.
Jeez!
Now, maybe that scenario has happened before for that vendor, so they wanted to call it out to prevent surprises.
But it didn't feel that way to me.
It felt like the vendor was hitting me over the head with unfairness.
So when I got to the big clauses later in the agreement - like indemnity - I was ready to fight back.
I covered that indemnity clause in redlines.
But now I wonder:
If the autorenewal clause didn't seem so unfair, would I have made the same redlines to the indemnity clause?
Was I guilty of Redline Rage⁉
It's like Road Rage, but with Microsoft Word instead of a Honda Civic.
"This clause if ridiculous! You want to be unfair to me? Fine, how do you like these redlines?!"
(You've done it too!)
But...
Maybe it wasn't my fault?!
Think back to the study.
Fewer kids took the survey when they felt like they were being treated unfairly.
And who treated them unfairly?
The people doing the survey!
Maybe it's their fault!
And the same applies to drafting contracts.
The perceived unfairness of 1 clause can influence how other clauses are perceived.
The autorenewal clause felt so unfair to me. It threw me into a Redline Rage and I took it out on the indemnity clause.
If there's a heavy-handed clause in your contract, is it creating more redlines for everybody?
If so, consider fixing it.
Because as Dr Phil says: only you can prevent Redline Rage.
What was the last clause that was totally unfair and threw you into a Redline Rage?
They did a study once.
They went to a college and asked kids to do a survey.
Some kids were offered $7 to do the survey.
72% of them said OK.
Other kids were offered $8 to do the survey...
BUT they were also told a harmless lie: that other kids were offered $10 to do the survey.
The results?
Even though some kids were offered more money ($8 v $7), only 54% agreed to do the survey.
The takeaway?
If we feel that we're being treated unfairly, it changes our behavior.
So what does this have to do with redlining?
I saw an agreement once with a standard autorenewal clause.
No big deal, right?
But then the agreement went on and on, over multiple sentences, emphasizing how there would absolutely be NO REFUNDS, no matter what, and I'd be autorenewed and charged even if my notice of nonrenewal was just 1 day late.
Jeez!
Now, maybe that scenario has happened before for that vendor, so they wanted to call it out to prevent surprises.
But it didn't feel that way to me.
It felt like the vendor was hitting me over the head with unfairness.
So when I got to the big clauses later in the agreement - like indemnity - I was ready to fight back.
I covered that indemnity clause in redlines.
But now I wonder:
If the autorenewal clause didn't seem so unfair, would I have made the same redlines to the indemnity clause?
Was I guilty of Redline Rage⁉
It's like Road Rage, but with Microsoft Word instead of a Honda Civic.
"This clause if ridiculous! You want to be unfair to me? Fine, how do you like these redlines?!"
(You've done it too!)
But...
Maybe it wasn't my fault?!
Think back to the study.
Fewer kids took the survey when they felt like they were being treated unfairly.
And who treated them unfairly?
The people doing the survey!
Maybe it's their fault!
And the same applies to drafting contracts.
The perceived unfairness of 1 clause can influence how other clauses are perceived.
The autorenewal clause felt so unfair to me. It threw me into a Redline Rage and I took it out on the indemnity clause.
If there's a heavy-handed clause in your contract, is it creating more redlines for everybody?
If so, consider fixing it.
Because as Dr Phil says: only you can prevent Redline Rage.
What was the last clause that was totally unfair and threw you into a Redline Rage?