What does meaning mean to us?

We humans are a social animal. The structure of our needs has been shown by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs… from Biological up to Security, to Belonging, to Recognition, and finally of Self-Actualization.

Each one of these needs beyond the first two, from Belonging upwards, depends a lot on the meaning we build as our own from our community(ies), the recognition (appreciation) we gather, and the new (personal/original) meaning we are able to convey (add) to our community (the world we understand). What does meaning mean to us?

The book, “The Three Laws of Performance” makes the point so emphatically – “How things occur to us depends on the language we use”. What does this mean? Does language lead to meaning, or is it the other way around? Is its meaning important for us? And therefore to us?

Of course, language is a natural form of communication, and as such there will be varying degrees of ‘language’ used by different people, all of which we need to be accommodated in our understanding. That notwithstanding, does the widespread adoption of a wide vocabulary, clear, consistent, correct, and precise language have a direct correspondence with the growth and evolution of a community?

This is an invitation to a conversation on the meaning of language, and what it means to us, building from what it means to each one of us. You’re invited to be a part of this conversation right here… Click and post your thoughts and read what others are saying as well.

What does meaning mean to us?

What role does the (correctness of) language mean for all of us?

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An Industry of Hope, Belief, Trust, Integrity, and Responsibility!

What are the drivers for an industry? This is a question that gains significance as we try to grow an industry, leveraging the drivers to drive faster and farther.

The Automobile industry, for example, is driven by our needs as people, to travel safely and comfortably, from one place to another in as short a time as possible, affordably. Similarly, the Films and Entertainment Industry is driven by glamour, and the Food industry is driven by hunger and our need to be healthy.

Learning and Development is an Industry of Hope.
• Hope – of improved Competencies improving Performance, this is the entire raison d’etre for training.
• Belief – in People’s abilities impacting Performance, People’s Responsibility.  Hope is not enough, it needs to become a Belief, a conviction.
• Trust – in Teachers, to learn from them.  Without Trust, our minds do not open to receive.
• Integrity – of Teachers and Learners – with their Hope, Belief, and Trust.  The Integrity of purpose, and commitment to meet it in the simplest form is an imperative attribute for generating the value of new knowledge.
• Responsibility – of everyone – buyers, sellers, learners, teachers, and leaders – Responsibility about the Integrity and how it is manifested.

Training and Development of Human Resources is an industry of hope. This is so because the relationship between people’s capabilities and their performance is only a matter of hope for most managers.

Managers are not very sure, even if they feel responsible, about how they would convert a competency into performance. It is a heuristic for them to imagine how they would get more or better performance from someone with a better skill or knowledge.

This decision is driven by the managers’ wisdom, which depends on the understanding they build from their awareness, experience, and beliefs.

What managers must also realize is that their people’s performance depends not only on their competencies, but also on the goals, processes, plans and leadership they receive from the organization. Competent people are only the ‘raw material’ or ‘resource’ needed for performance.

To grow, we need to acknowledge the drivers and grow them so that there is (more) movement of business (value) across the various stakeholders of the industry.  We also need to recognize that without the understanding and belief in the drivers of this industry, businesses only become more expensive, not wealthier.

Is it a surprise then, how Learning & Development is an industry that needs the highest standards, values, and skills to be transformed into a business by all its stakeholders.