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Do You Argue To Win or To Be Right?

Trigger Question #02

We can define management as the attempt to herd scarce resources toward achieving a stated goal or outcome. But that sounds too straightforward, as if the path were clear.

Better to view management as a never-ending process of making effective choices. Which at least reminds us that, in a constantly changing world, there are always viable, if not optimal, alternatives to choose from.

But because a manager manages people... Hang on. A manager doesn't really manage people. A manager manages skills. Let's be honest. A manager would rather direct the needed skills without the people attached. Skills are neutral, whereas people can be unreasonable.

Be that as may, a manager must consider the people involved. The people with skills and also the others. This makes it even trickier for a manager to choose the best option. Because other people unsportingly have options they prefer. (I told you people can be unreasonable. Would a skill do that to you?)

Which leads us to this prickly question. How do you choose an option, knowing that your choice must become an effective decision that everyone can support?

Do you engage with others so that you can herd them away from their preferred position, closer to yours? Or do you engage with them to uncover any critical issues you may have missed?

Next time, keep this in mind. When you focus your energy on convincing others of the merit of your points, you might win the argument but gain little. Whereas, if you focus on the worthiness of their points, you might lose the argument, but you will have learned a lot. You might even be wiser.

And the wise are the ones who ultimately make effective decisions.

Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.

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I boost careers by helping people deal with the nonsense of pleasing a boss, playing nice with colleagues, making subordinates productive, and living a life. Read more​

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