Tag: outcomes

Thoughts on different types of equality

Equality of outcome is not possible, nor should it be desired. We should be striving for equality of opportunity. Everyone should be afforded the same opportunity and then they can choose whether they want to take those opportunities or not. Opportunity will never equal outcome because other factors still play a large part in determining the result. You can affect the result through hardworking, working efficiently, working creatively, working collaboratively, etc. You can get better at networking or delegating. You can get better at doing. And you can always run into good luck or bad luck.

People should be compensated based on their production, results, and merit, but that’s not always going to happen. Because unlike playing sports where you have the same objective and many ways to track results with tangible numbers, we can’t always quantify the value of a team member. And then there is the human, team morale, and leadership aspect to consider too. How can you quantify what that is worth?

We should always strive to be better – for ourselves, our family, friends, co-workers/team, company, city, state, nation, and world. We should strive for a more equal playing field and never stop striving for it. But the best way to start change is to start with yourself. Control what you can control, try to influence what/who you can influence, and realize that nothing is perfect.

Processes vs outcomes

Don’t fall into the trap of only keeping track of your outcomes. It is important to note the difference between the work you put in leading up to the outcome and the outcome itself. What I mean by this is that no matter what you do to prepare for a certain event, there will always be luck involved which is out of your control. For example, you could know the probability that something will occur “X” percent of the time (like a poker hand) and be a relatively good predictor of that thing actually happening. But no matter how much information you have, you have no control over the amount of luck (in your favor or against you) which will occur.

Say you’re playing Texas Hold’em. You’re dealt pocket aces (two of the highest cards) to start the hand. Unless one of your opponents has the other two aces in the deck, you always are starting out with the higher probability of winning before any other cards are shown. But say you lose with that starting hand 3 times in a row. Would you vow to never play pocket aces again, even though statistically you are favored to win? No. That would be valuing the outcome over the process.

The processes you follow should be based on what gives you the best chance to achieve your goals. It may not always work in your favor, but if you are always putting yourself in position to succeed, more often than not, you will.

Measure your processes, not the outcomes. If the outcomes always seem to be going against you, test your assumptions about the processes (maybe you’re missing something). And be sure to not only dwell on the negative outcomes (it’s easier to remember something bad that has happened as opposed to the many good things that have occurred).