Tag: context

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First Principle – Context

Your decisions affect people.

Not in the way you think. We usually think people care about our decisions on the surface, that they “care” because life is all about us (we are natural narcissists.) 

However that isn’t it at all. While people may “care” about what we do, odds are they don’t because they too are making decisions and wondering if you care about them. 

Your decisions affect people because we live in a complex system. Everything builds on something else; there is no such thing as a clean slate. Because of this, it is imperative, as an impactful decision maker, to understand who and what your decisions affect.

To many teams and folks, this feels like overkill. I would caution you that over-indexing on context may, may lead to a rolled eye or two, but under-indexing can lead to a world war. Sounds extreme, but it has happened. 

Now, we may not have the decision power to change the lines on a globe, but we make decisions each and every day that change people on it.

So always contextualize. Find out who is affected by our decisions and then choose if it matters. 

Nothing happens in a vacuum.

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Ask for the Average

Get Context

Losing five million dollars seems like a lot of money, right?

Unless your market cap is 500 billion, and then it’s just noise.

The first thing you hear can anchor us. Unfortunately, the first thing we hear isn’t always real. Sometimes, it’s just noise.

Take a moment, take a breath and get the context to understand if it is noise.

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Add Context, Big Impact

Adding some context makes us feel better

Take a look at these two sentences:

  • Go to the store and get some milk.
  • Go to the store and get some milk, I’m working on my taxes.

Which one feels better?

The ask is the same, yet, the second option seems better. It seems like the person asking isn’t just asking to ask; there is a reason. As a result, I feel there is some respect for my time.

And, I bet you feel the same way too.

That isn’t just your intuition; rather, there is science behind it.

A Harvard study found that adding a reason to a request makes compliance more likely. This behavior happens with every ask, and as a result, it is in your best interest to always add context.

The next time you make an offer, take the time to add an idea and some context.  As a result, more of the things you ask for will happen, and you’ll have a greater impact.

 

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When It Rains, It Pours…

“Flooding” is bad for your health and sanity.

In the book “Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well”, the authors describe “flooding” as the psychological event that multiplies the impact of a negative feeling. For example, “flooding” is when you find that the printer isn’t working and somehow that feeling becomes everyone here at the office hates me.

Yes, I’ve seen that example happen. It also may have been me.

When I notice the oncoming “flood” happening there are three things that help me get out of it.

  • Breathe – watch your breath, let things settle. Exercise is good here too.
  • Get context – Write out everything that is happening to you and read it back. The printer broke, not you.
  • Get thankful – The fact that you zipped up your pants before you left the house? That’s a win.

Floods are going to happen based on your disposition. I know a lot of creatives are on the “open” side of that scale, meaning we tend to “flood” more often. It’s OK when it happens, it’s human, but the key is to not stay there. 

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