Every choice reflects a value, so choose intentionally
I recently designed an Annual Fund appeal for Watkinson School, whose publications I’ve been doing for 25 years. (Although I’m a freelancer, I am loyal to the organizations and people doing good out in the world.) I was working with a design constraint: the front photo was going to be partly obscured by a fold-over flap, so the photo needed to work as a full photo and also as a right-side sliver. I was looking through photos of a river rafting trip the school had taken, and I chose the photo above, which worked well as both a full-width and a narrowly cropped version.
When I showed the piece to my (brilliant) collaborator Jenni French, however, she was concerned. “We’re a student-centered school,” she said. “Shouldn’t the photo have a student on that right side?” She was absolutely right, of course. I’d let my design concern (I need a photo with a strong right side) override the much more important criterion: What value am I highlighting by choosing this photo?
Values are choices about how we spend our time, what we care about, how we want to live
Values are not goals. Goals are concrete, a place to get to, a thing to achieve, a one-and-done. Values, on the other hand, describe how we want to be in the present moment. “A diverse student body” is a goal. “Being open instead of afraid, learning about other people, growing” are values that are served by being surrounded by those who are different from you. (And please note that a school could meet the goal of a diverse student body without actually supporting openness, growth, and learning. Goals and values are not automatically paired.)
Back to the photo. Now, there’s certainly nothing wrong with this photo; it’s a beautiful photo. But what does it show? A teacher leading. A teacher helping a group of students have a great (and safe) time.
Again, these are fine things, even terrific things. A school might very well want to send those messages. But are those the messages Watkinson wanted to send? Jenni reminded me that, first and foremost, Watkinson cares about being student-centered. That’s not a goal, because it’s not an achievable state; it’s a way of approaching situations and making decisions. Every choice the school makes — every teacher hired, every course planned, every project assigned — is made in that context. The more fully the choice reflects the value, the more successful the choice.
Test your choices with your senses, your intellect, and your gut
So I looked for another photo. Once I had sight of the big picture, it was easy to choose an actual picture. I found a different photo that demonstrated the right values... but not the right orientation. I flipped the photo and voilà! A much better solution.
Let valuing values be one of your values
Shifting your decision-making to center your values can radically increase your sense of satisfaction in your work and your life. Not coincidentally, it can also improve the success of whatever solution or service you’re offering. People want to work with/work for/buy from/give to people and organizations that make them feel good. And what makes people feel good — truly, deeply good — is living in alignment with their values.
If you’re interested in this topic, Joe Edelman at Human Systems is a good one to follow on Medium.