“When things are no longer specified, with precision, the walls crumble, and chaos makes its presence known.” – Jordan Peterson
“When things break down, that which has been ignored rushes in.” – Jordan Peterson
In the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we are all learning hard lessons, both personally and professionally, about the costs of both ignorance and ignoring.
The English word “ignorance” is based on the Latin term ignorare, meaning “to not know.”
The English word “ignore” has the same Latin root, but in the 19th century took on a meaning of “pay no attention to,” in other words, not describing a condition, but a willful action.
Malice or Incompetence?
Not long ago, I learned about a philosophical principle called “Hanlon’s Razor.”
Hanlon’s Razor says that you should “never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.”
Hanlon’s razor encourages us to not start out by assuming that an action occurred due to someone’s ill intentions, if it’s possible that the action occurred due to incompetence instead. (For an excellent explanation about how to use Hanlon’s Razor, please refer to this article: “Hanlon’s Razor: Why You Shouldn’t Start By Assuming the Worst“)
When you read my writings on this website, you will see that I am very critical of the Pro-Life Business Industry, and the leadership teams of the Pregnancy Help Centers that make up that industry.
However, I attribute the failure of the Pro-Life Business Industry – failure in this case defined as extremely low market share versus Planned Parenthood – not to anyone’s ill intentions.
I am personal friends with many leaders of Pregnancy Help Centers, and they are some of the most amazing human beings I have ever met.
Their intentions are honorable – to save the lives of preborn babies from abortion.
Many leaders of Pregnancy Help Centers are hired because of their demonstrated passion to help save lives from abortion.
However, rarely, if ever, are they asked to offer proof that they have the demonstrated competence to measurably achieve results based on that passion.
Passion and emotions may drive you to act, but it’s competence that successfully gets you to your desired destination.
Keeping Emotions In Check
The reason I harp incessantly about “market share” is because it is a dispassionate measure of success versus the competition.
For obvious reasons, the issue of abortion stokes emotions to a fever pitch.
I don’t think anyone who is pro-life is immune to that.
The problem is that an elevated emotional state does not create a good environment for effective planning and execution.
The antidote?
I believe the leadership team, both executives and board members, of a Pregnancy Help Center should agree on, and be held accountable to, objective and unemotional measures of success – especially market share.
More tomorrow…
Regards,
Brett