The man we know as Ulysses S. Grant was actually named Herman Ulysses Grant. When Congressman Thomas Hamer appointed Grant to West Point, he mistakenly filled out the application in the name of "Ulysses S. Grant."
When Grant discovered in May 1839 that the Academy had him registered under the wrong name, he tried to get the error corrected. He was told that it didn't matter what he or his parents thought his name was, the official government application said his name was "Ulysses S." and that application could not be changed. If hiram U. Grant wanted to attend West Point, he would have to change his name.
LESSON: Bureaucrats will blindly obey whatever set of rules they are instructed to follow even if this leads them to take completely illogical actions. Try to keep them out of your organization. Also, help prevent your people from turning into bureaucrats by regularly reminding them that your organization's rules and regulations are designed to provide guidence to intelligent human beings who use their heads, and are not intended for slavish obedience to automatons.
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