IT'S NOT JUST WHAT YOU DO......

.....it's the way that you do it. That's what gets results. Go back to Aristotle; he wrote:

“It is not enough to the effects of honey [….] and cutting.

But to know how, for whom and when we should 

apply these remedies is no less an undertaking

than being a physician.”

A bit profound perhaps, as few if any of us are on his wavelength; but the underlying message is clear – knowing is one thing but knowing when and how is quite a different story.  

So let’s bring the whole concept up to date. You can achieve brilliant results at work or in private; perhaps far exceeding what was expected of you or what you expected from yourself. But, if for example, you are a boss and achieve “miracles” (in the eyes of your bosses) but forget the human (or even humane) factor - and are in fact a Grade “A” bastard - have you been successful? I cannot answer for you, but in my view, the answer is NO. I believe we have to appreciate the context of a given situation, which resonates with the views expressed by Aristotle.

However, in the chaotic panic of life today, it is simple to overlook the “how” and focus strictly on the “what” – and maybe that’s one of the foundations of why we are where we are now. I think this concept can be very nicely summed up by another quote, this from Michel Foucault:

“People know what they do. Some frequently know why they do what they do.

 But what they do not know is what they do, does.”

An echo from my “alter ego” Gracián (La realidad y el modo)……

Until next time (and trying to reduce the unknown unknowns),

Peripatetic Scribe