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Intrapersonal Growth: |
A Fixed Point of Reference part 1 of 2 |
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"...What is success for me?"
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by Brit Boone, president of GHP So often in life questions are answered in relation to other information. Is a man standing two meters high short or tall? What if this individual is compared to a basketball player that is 2.4 meters tall? What if he is in a crowd of people, none of which is taller than 1.7 meters? If a man 2 meters tall marries a woman of equal height, is it possible that he is average and she is tall? In reality, there are two ways to answer questions. One way is with relative information—making a comparison of the item in question with something else. For example, this company proved to be highly profitable this year in comparison with other companies in the same industry. The second alternative is with absolute information—factual, non-negotiable data. Once again to illustrate, this company had 12% net profit this year. These two categories can be labeled as being relative or absolute. Both relative and absolute terms are of benefit in various scenarios. Recently my wife and I were trying to determine what paint we would use to paint our baby girl’s room. We had long been in agreement that we would paint it pink. On our several trips to the hardware store, though, we continued to debate which of the shades of pink would look best. We examined what matched the baby’s bedding, what would be ideal when having such a large area painted pink, how it would coordinate with the color of the furniture, etc. Comments such as “that one is pretty, but I feel this would be a softer pink and more appropriate for a baby,” were shared in various forms and with attention to various adjectives. While we were seeking the “perfect” pink for a baby girl, we actually agreed on the one that was the best relative to all of the others we had seen. We were looking at multiple shades of one brand of paint. The quality of the paint was the same. The price was the same. The eventual deciding factor was a feeling or relative comparison that we liked one better than all the others. It would have been impossible for us to go in and find the absolute perfect pink. One pink was not actually better than another. There was no way to eliminate all of the bad pinks until we arrived at the right one. Instead, we worked through a comparative or a relative process to make a selection. In other scenarios, people naturally desire an absolute answer. In dealing with people looking to start new jobs, I have yet to find an individual that will agree to work for an employer that promises a “good” or “desirable” wage. Each person wants to know precisely what he or she can expect. Telling an individual the pay is good is a relative statement. This is a belief that the employer holds, but the potential employee is unable to process this adequately. One must wonder, “Is your interpretation of “good” pay the same as mine?” If the person hiring tells the same individual that the monthly salary is US $1000, then the potential employee can evaluate this portion of the package. Now the employee might think, “Based on the culture, benefits, cost of living in that city, etc., is this sufficient salary to compensate for my efforts with this company?” Relative and absolute can function as more than just answers to questions, they can serve as viewpoints or paradigms for interpreting information. One example of this is the paint selection process my wife and I experienced. We were trying to envision a painted room with varying shades of pink. Another common example of this can relate to leadership. There are numerous leadership definitions and principles that are absolute and unchanging. For example, a leader has influence. This is widely accepted as being true. There are other aspects of leadership that are relative. For example, a leader in this company should have an “appropriate” number of direct reports. Appropriate here may mean 5 for one person and 50 for another based on their leadership style, their position, their experience, or some other factor. A third possibility is a combination of absolute and relative factors. One instance of this is a style of leadership that has gained influence in many cultures—“situational leadership.” This is an absolute model that is fixed upon relative situations. If the scenario is type “B”, then the leader should respond in “X” way. If situation “C” exists, then approach “Y” by the leader is appropriate. The success of this model relies on the leader being able to interpret the relative scenario and then properly apply the fixed type of response or interaction. Another way to view this is that the leader must be aware that circumstances are relative, but the ideal way to respond is absolute or fixed in accordance with the situation. So how does all of this fit together for an individual or a company to be successful? In order to answer this question, an individual or company must first answer a more basic question—What is success for me? This question must be answered concretely if a company is going to be able to measure any level of success. The most basic element of the defining of success must be contained in values. These values must be fixed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ page 1 2 © Copyright – Brit Boone – 2005 |
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