Thursday, October 4, 2012

Between feelings and facts

Our lives and our businesses are often run by feelings. We feel good, we feel stressed, we feel excited, we feel overwhelmed, etc. Based on those feelings, we take action.

Feelings are good because they allow us to humanize--to look at people as persons, not just things. But, the bigger the gap between our feelings and the facts, the more likely the wrong decision is made.

We usually want to avoid the facts, the data, and the metrics because we don't want to hurt feelings, we don't want to be embarrassed, etc. This just continues the cycle of frustration.

The battle for accountability is fought daily and the leader who can take the fear out of the facts so people can embrace them will win.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com

1 comment:

  1. Thank you, Barry LaBov, for this interesting post about the motivation behind our actions. I find that oftentimes, I make my decisions based off my emotions. If I'm very friendly with an employee, it's tougher for me to lay blame or suggest changes if something is wrong. The facts are the facts for a reason. You have to look at them when you're making a decision. Feelings shouldn't be discounted, but they shouldn't be the source of your reasoning either. It's really about a marriage between the head and the heart.

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