My recent business trip to the South Carolina coast featured many alligators and even more warning signs. With both in sight of my balcony, I also saw a ridiculous number of people feeding and attracting said alligators. What part of danger don’t they understand?

Yes, that is a gator enjoying the water beneath the sign.

And do the sign posters really expect compliance?

People will behave as you desire only if they see the value in doing so. While WIIFM (what’s in it for me) may top the list, most people are also influenced by understanding the impact of their actions on family, friends, colleagues, the organization, the community, and beyond.

This warning sign imparts none of that understanding.

Those who posted it were dreaming in the fields of “if you write it, they’ll succumb.” Either that, or they think this is adequate protection from a lawsuit.

Let’s listen in on the thinking of these tourists as they approach the alligators with insufficient knowledge and insufficient respect.

“How dangerous are these guys? Floating lazily. Paying me no mind. Still no reaction, as I move closer. Just a bit closer and I’ll have a great photo!”

Meanwhile, I am picturing eighty razor-sharp teeth leveraged by a foot of jawbone on 1,000 pounds of quick-twitch muscle. “Don’t push your luck, buddy!”

“Wow! Two big ones out there. Let’s try some bread crumbs. Hey! They’re coming this way! Obviously I’m not the first to toss them food.”

Social endorsement. Growing comfort in the proximity of gators. Reduced respect for the warning signs.

All of which leads to their final conclusion:

“I’m sure those signs are there primarily to protect the resort against lawsuits.”

These guys have never considered that they are training gators to associate people with food. They apparently have no understanding of the potential consequences of living among large wildlife that have no fear of humans. It’s never occurred to them to picture the small child or unsuspecting person who may be on the receiving end of a gator’s new confidence and interest in humans as a source of food.

But their general thought processes are not unusual and they explain why rules are broken.

If you write it, your employees will not succumb. Your policy decisions, rules, and systems will be as meaningless as these warning signs unless your employees understand far more than these tourists about your priorities and the consequences of their action or inaction.

Set out to control people with the written word and you will all be eaten by the gators sooner or later!