How often have you looked at a person and was able to describe the essence of that person in a single word? As an exercise, what single word would you use to represent each of the remaining presidential candidates in both parties? How did you approach the process? What factors lead you conclusively to that single word?
During my tenure as an adjunct university instructor, I often challenged my students to strive for succinctness in their writing. For example, I asked my students to describe some ideas or topics on a single page with multiple paragraphs. Next, I asked them to compress the body of the material into a single item while still maintaining the critical information. Following that exercise, my next challenge to them was to condense the central idea into a single sentence. The final activity was for each student to summarize the essence of the writing into a single word.
Using the idea presented in the previous paragraph, how might this process benefit an organization? For example, could employees describe their organizational culture, or sum up corporate culture up in a single word? If the organization conducted a random survey, would the results be consistent? If not, why? If yes, why?
Finally, if you only had space on your headstone for a single word that described your philosophical worldview and embodied all of your lived experiences, what would it be? How did you define that word? Do you believe the essence of you at this stage of life is significantly different than when you were three years old? Why? Why not? Do you prefer your word today more than any other “word” that described you in the past? Would you be willing to ask others to represent you in a single word and compare the results?
I have discovered that circumstances have modified my philosophical worldview over time, but more importantly, I would like to believe that my word remained consistent. The ultimate test is how closely my perception of me is in alignment with how others see me. If there is a significant gap between those two perceptions, I might have an opportunity ahead of me.
What is your word?
Stan Brooks, PhD
