Goals for those quiet modules.
The Thinkerer speaks on behalf of those quiet brain modules that often don’t get to speak for themselves. One place where that speaking may need added attention lies in the topic of goals. The Thinkerer has a number of pages about goals. One of the slogans I like is:
“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll wind up somewhere else.”
To borrow a few lines from another page: http://www.thinkerer.org/Tools/ToolsGoalNotGoal.htm
After all, we know that we should have goals. Explicit goals. Preferably quantitative. Certainly concrete enough so we will know when we reach them. This is the moral imperative of organizations.
If you are an organization, you need explicit goals. Organizations need explicit goals because they operate by cooperation among people. Cooperation only works when everybody understands the goal. Not just the words. The goal as it will appear in reality.
The problem with talking to people about goals is that talk filters through the verbal system. The verbal system interprets the world in terms of words. So it naturally treats talk about goals as talk about verbal statements of goals.
That is why the Thinkerer uses elliptical statements like the slogan above. The statement does not make much sense under a strictly verbal interpretation. So the verbal system has to hand off the job to other systems. This statement makes perfectly good sense to the navigation system you use to travel around and not get lost.
But that navigation system rarely deals in verbal statements of goals. It only needs words if you have to write something down or communicate to other people. Pay attention to how your handle your navigational goals and you will realize that you use only a minimum of talk. Nowhere near enough verbal instruction to get you where you intend to go if you did not already know your destination.
And then there are the times when you only know the name of your destination and somebody gives you verbal directions. These are the times when you really understand the difference between being told and knowing.
Notice a few things about this quiet system and the way it handles goals.
It works in the here and now.
It develops from experience.
If it has the experience, it knows how to get what you want.
It knows when you get where you want to go.
It has been serving you for years without verbally stated goals.
Now if I can just figure out how people can get similar service out of other parts of their brains, I’ll have something to write next week.
“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll wind up somewhere else.”
To borrow a few lines from another page: http://www.thinkerer.org/Tools/ToolsGoalNotGoal.htm
After all, we know that we should have goals. Explicit goals. Preferably quantitative. Certainly concrete enough so we will know when we reach them. This is the moral imperative of organizations.
If you are an organization, you need explicit goals. Organizations need explicit goals because they operate by cooperation among people. Cooperation only works when everybody understands the goal. Not just the words. The goal as it will appear in reality.
The problem with talking to people about goals is that talk filters through the verbal system. The verbal system interprets the world in terms of words. So it naturally treats talk about goals as talk about verbal statements of goals.
That is why the Thinkerer uses elliptical statements like the slogan above. The statement does not make much sense under a strictly verbal interpretation. So the verbal system has to hand off the job to other systems. This statement makes perfectly good sense to the navigation system you use to travel around and not get lost.
But that navigation system rarely deals in verbal statements of goals. It only needs words if you have to write something down or communicate to other people. Pay attention to how your handle your navigational goals and you will realize that you use only a minimum of talk. Nowhere near enough verbal instruction to get you where you intend to go if you did not already know your destination.
And then there are the times when you only know the name of your destination and somebody gives you verbal directions. These are the times when you really understand the difference between being told and knowing.
Notice a few things about this quiet system and the way it handles goals.
It works in the here and now.
It develops from experience.
If it has the experience, it knows how to get what you want.
It knows when you get where you want to go.
It has been serving you for years without verbally stated goals.
Now if I can just figure out how people can get similar service out of other parts of their brains, I’ll have something to write next week.
posted by Selby Evans at 9:48 AM
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