Last week Dropbox raised their prices. Here’s the announcement. As you read it, ask yourself how honest it is:

Hi Josef,

Dropbox Plus just got an upgrade. And a new price—starting on May 10, 2020 (that’s your next billing cycle), Dropbox Plus will be $119.88 a year (plus any applicable taxes).

The all-new Plus plan is packed with top-requested features from our professional plans. Now you’ll have:

• • Double your storage—save everything with 2 TB (2,000 GB).
  • World-class sync technology—move out-of-date files off your computer’s hard drive and to the cloud with Dropbox Smart Sync.
  • Dropbox Rewind—roll back accidental changes to any folder, or your entire account, up to 30 days.

This is all for just $20.88 more a year. Or you can visit your account anytime to see more options. Manage your plan.

Thanks for choosing Dropbox.

– The Dropbox Team

P.S. New features have already been added to your account. See what’s new with Plus.

An All-too-Common Excuse

This is a classic example of the excuse I call “Changing the Frame.” What’s implied is that the change is better: more features, more storage, and it’s a great deal.

What’s true is that I don’t need any of that, and I don’t have the option to keep my rate the same. The link to “more options” shows only more expensive plans. One thing (the only thing) they did right here was announcing this change almost a year in advance.

Changing the Frame is based on the powerful concept of reframing (created by Neuro-linguistic Programming) that is used every day in this world when someone says, “Instead of thinking about it that way, think about it in this other way.”

Reality? Or Distortion?

That’s wonderful when the new way is closer to reality, but when it’s a distortion of reality, it creates problems.

• “I’m not gossiping about employees. I’m expressing my feelings.”
• “I haven’t been stealing. I’ve been taking what I deserve.”
• “I wasn’t cheating on you. I’m getting my needs met.”

Yeah, right.

Truth Behind Subtleties

Changing the Frame can be very subtle. Here are some examples and sub-excuses you’ve probably noticed:

• “I think we’re over-thinking this issue,” said when critical thinking is about to prevail and show the person they’re wrong. This reframe is designed to avoid the analysis where flawed thinking is revealed.
• Rejection of the medium or context for communication. “I didn’t answer your question because I didn’t want to go back and forth via email.” Or “It wasn’t the right time to talk about that.” This deflection usually occurs when the issue is getting near the truth. Notice the person doesn’t attempt another form of communication or schedule a different time responsibly.
• Appeal to Taboo: “Some things you just don’t talk about.” Who says?
• Changing the subject, when it’s important. “Isn’t there something more important we should be talking about?”

Politicians very often try to hide by changing the frame, and sadly there’s nothing we can do about that.

What we can do is learn to see where we do the very same thing, only more subtly. Be the change you want to see, right?

If you’re ready to be different, why not give the Dojo a try? Right now, you can get a FREE 30-day trial membership in the Clear and Open Dojo. So what’s stopping you?