“Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved.
It finds its deepest meaning in his or her spiritual being, his or her inner self.
Whether or not he or she is actually present,
whether or not he or she is still alive at all,
ceases somehow to be of importance.”
.
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning
Do you find it mentally helpful to believe you’ve made the right decision?
Have you ever wondered, “is there such a thing as a right decision”?
What happens if you’re often wrong? How does that make you feel?
If you’re still reading… let’s revisit this right and wrong concept.
Confirmation bias; succinctly means people believe a certain decision, idea or concept to be accurate or put another way, “they’re right”; because they want it to be true, despite information possibly to the contrary. Thus, people stop gathering information when the evidence gathered so far, confirms the views or prejudices they want to be true, so they can mentally stop thinking about it. This approach represents the majority of people; albeit much easier mentally, is it possible, this is not the optimal approach?
How can we shift confirmation bias from a weakness to becoming our ally? We can start by simply recognizing its existence as a component of our DMQ (Decision Making Quality).
Second; instead of taking a dichotomous view and seeing decisions as primarily right or wrong, let’s consider a pie chart of unique views with some pie slice options being more favorable, while others are less favorable.
Third; we need to determine which options (pie slices) are holistically (vs. specific parts) more important, to help us make better overall decisions. This approach takes into consideration:
- Will it help me or hurt me?
- Will it help others or hurt others?
- Do I have the capacity to implement it effectively?
- (Critical) What outcome do I want, as it relates to the previous questions?
- Amazing
- Very Good
- Good
- Good Enough
You’ll notice, as you labor through your pie slice options and their probabilities for success, a very strange thing happens… you’ll begin to know yourself much better… the Good… the Bad… and the Ugly!
How many of you have been in relationships with primarily self-centered people who lack the capacity to change for the betterment of the relationship? This is a good example of less-than-stellar Holistic-DMQ coupled with an abundance of confirmation bias.
Our teams work with companies to help them save $XX Millions, just as we’ve done for
95 F500’s and numerous mid-sized companies over the past 15 years. Although we’ve
earned a 97%+ Success Rate, it’s not unusual to hear, “we’ve got this covered”;
which translates to confirmation bias.
Compared to where I am now, when I was younger, I was much more self-centered. Thus; my decisions centered primarily on:
- What’s in it for me?
- How will this make me look?
- Will I fit into the Social Norm Value System?
How sad was I! Gag me! Best (not most likely) case scenario, that thinking can lead to a Very Good life…
but, Amazing was being forfeited!
Now, my first questions that drive my decision making are geared toward:
- What’s in it for others?
- Who do I need help from to help us be successful?
- Will this primarily help my (would be) significant other or business relationships more than me?
It’s super-tough for me to be around self-centered people who seek justification for their decisions, stop looking for additional information regarding their decisions and rely upon their confirmation biases to “sleep well at night”. Yes; that self-centered model can lead to a Good life… but never… an Amazing life!
Here are a few values of Amazing people:
- They love when others prove them wrong (and can’t spend enough time around them)!
- They love to give more than they take in every relationship! There aren’t boundaries in loving relationships! (Why? This is an entire blog by itself.)
- They grow holistically as a professional and person by being proven wrong as often and quickly as possible (before they get old and wise)!
- They lead an Amazing; albeit often, lonelier life!
Anyone can make Good Enough decisions, surround themselves with others that support their Good Enough decisions and stop looking for new information that could upend their decisions — or — un-truncate the possibility of regret associated with past decisions. Whereas; Amazing people embrace these challenges and eat plenty of Humble Pie in order to get better faster and holistically.
If you’re genuinely looking for Amazing professionally, we’d love to explore that path with your Non-Profit, your Company or yourself!
Life’s short and Windows of Amazing are even shorter!
What would your Non-Profit do with an extra $1+ Million?
Here are a few of the benefits our Intelligent Social Impact model provides.
- Fundraising for Non-Profits needing to raise $1.2+ Million, at no cost to your Non-Profit.
- Net Income for Companies needing to add $9.7+ Million to their bottom-lines, at no net cost to your company (Intelligent!).
- Holistic coaching centered on professional performance while incorporating whole-life improvement.
Watch the 5-Minute Highlight Video of Your Life while you’re making Jugular Decisions,
to seize and hyper-appreciate your Windows of Amazing!
If this content resonates with you; and, you would actually appreciate help, seizing your Windows of Amazing…
DM me on LinkedIn or directly (jim.roncevich@ipgsocialimpact.com).
Who changes the world? I believe it’s almost exclusively the Top-7%. They are the only ones with the Talent Portfolios and social consciences needed to actually implement significant positive social impact.
If you believe you’re one of these executives, we’d love to explore possible opportunities.
Get MAD! Get Making A Difference! ~ JR
