The Dark Side of Results-Based Thinking

The Dark Side of Results-Based Thinking
By Sean Alexander

While it is true that we frequently fail to focus our effort on the result to be obtained—choosing instead to focus on activities surrounding the end objective rather than the objective itself—it is important that we not start down the slippery slope of expediency and avarice. That is where we find the Madoffs and Ebbers and Lays of the world. It is where we find corporate executives focused on themselves first, and their companies second, or third, or not at all. In this dark and dirty place we are told “The ends justify the means.” It is a space occupied by letches, leeches and other loathsome creatures. Here we find hubris, unbridled arrogance and greed. This is not a nice place. It is the dark side of results-based thinking.

It would appear that we can get to the dark side by three paths: 1.) Ignorance; 2.) Indifference; and, 3.) Intent. Let’s look at each individually.

Not knowing that a certain course of actions will lead to the dark side is forgivable in the young and inexperienced individual. Many of us were not given the training and experiences we should have received in our youths. Worse, some of us have been so protected and coddled that choosing a valid path to an objective would be, at best, a crap shoot. Some of us are given the lesson, but we miss the learning. We are Ignorant.

So, when we find ourselves having arrived at the wrong destination, it is often a surprise. We can’t imagine how we got there. For the ignorant, it is not so important that they ended up on the dark side; it is what they choose to do once they are there. Should they choose to accept their ill-conceived gain, then their integrity takes a solid hit, and it simply becomes easier to plan for such an outcome next time. The smart ones, the ones with unshakable integrity, take responsibility for what they have wrought, make appropriate apologies, make meaningful restitution, and learn to plan for results that are worthy of accomplishment.* Ignorance is curable, but left to fester, it leads to the destruction of one’s inner light.

It was personal achievement guru Earl Nightingale who defined success as “The progressive realization of a worthy ideal.”

The most imprudent path to an unworthy objective is Indifference. This is, perhaps, the hardest one to understand. To not care how an objective is reached is to diminish the worthiness of the goal itself. Here we are confronted with that old saw, “If a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing right.” There is much truth in that statement. This is not to say that there is one right way to accomplish something, but it does say that a chosen result, determined to be important, must be planned with considered thought.

Sometimes Indifference doesn’t show up in the planning phase, but in the doing phase. Such behavior almost always ends up in a lousy result. This may simply mean that the wrong person is doing the job. Or it may mean that they are distracted. Or it may mean that they really don’t care. All of these attitudes can lead to a result that is detrimental to many individuals. Indifference is despicable, but not uncommon.

Of course, the most insidious of the three paths to the dark side is Intent. It would be hard to imagine a more loathsome action than to intend to cause pain to another and then to plan and carry out that action. Certainly, a result was obtained, but a worthy one? Hardly. Nonetheless, it is easy to see how someone could be lulled into thinking that “Just this one time” or “No one will notice” provides protection against the intent to do harm. Such thinking is found in the tendrils of a lazy mind, spotty integrity and fractured morals.

Whether we are trying to decide on a personal goal, a business objective, or a societal imperative, it is crucial that we thoroughly consider the ramifications of that result. We must look beyond the obvious result to secondary and tertiary impacts of the accomplishment. And in the final analysis, on that Vital Edge, we must answer the most compelling question of all, “Is this intended result worthy of our commitment to its accomplishment?”

To Your Vital Success,

Sean Alexander

To comment on this article, click here.

To subscribe to The Vital Edge, click here.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Sean Alexander is President of VitalThought, a boutique consulting company that focuses on Results-Based Management. His monthly ezine, The Vital Edge, helps executives, project managers and team members discover project and personal success with results-based strategies and tactics. If you're ready to energize your projects and yourself, investigate the possibilities at www.vitalthought.com.