I was recently in the North Cascades with my wife and we decided to take a day hike to get outdoors and reconnect with the natural beauty that surrounds us here in the Northwest. We had done our research online and asked a couple of friends who frequent that area for suggestions and the feedback was pretty consistent – the Heather and Maple Pass Loop trail was the one to do.
Our basic criteria going into the search for a hike were the following:
- lots of scenic value in terms of broad vistas of mountains and lakes from a high elevation,
- moderate intensity in terms of distance and elevation gain with a lunch break,
- ideally a loop as I’m not a huge fan of out and back trips and
- convenience in terms of proximity to where we were staying and accessibility by car.
So off we went on our adventure on a beautiful late summer day, hitting the trail head at 10:30 under brilliant blue skies with warming temperatures and feeling pretty good about our decision. Yes it is true, we do have sunny days here in the Northwest.
Well, it didn’t take long for us to realize that we had missed the initial turn off to start climbing and ended up at Rainy Lake after following the flat paved path to it for half a mile. The lake was a beautiful sight, but not what we had in mind based upon our previously outlined values. We had to back track to get to the trail we wanted. On our way back we met an elderly couple who were trudging along and very friendly. It wasn’t long before they asked us the question… “Was it worth it?”
This question always stumps me because who am I to know if it will be worth it to them. When I hear the question I’m immediately set off on my own mind trip of trying to determine, based on really no solid information other than my own judgments of these people I have just encountered, what they value in order to then try to calculate the relative worth of them continuing on toward the lake or turning around and walking back with us to the parking lot.
This is an impossible task really, unless we sit down and find out the values of these strangers to determine if it would be worth it to them. We were not going to take the time to do that and they probably hadn’t set off in the woods to have that conversation with perfect strangers either.
The task is even harder to do objectively when you consider that our visit to the lake definitely failed our second and third criteria and fell short on the scenic quality because we were at the lakeshore looking up at the mountains. The walk this far had really only satisfied our final criteria. So for me it was not worth it, other than to add to our overall mileage for the day and serve as a good way to warm up my legs for the climb ahead.
Do you think we said “no, it’s not worth it, might as well head back to you car while you are ahead?” We didn’t, but we did share our experience of the lake and they chose to continue on presumably because our description matched their values. I chose to ponder the question further as we enjoyed the rest of our hike and was amazed to be asked it three more times that day.
I’m raising the point because I believe that determining values is a crucial component to making high quality decisions in life and business. My esteemed colleague and mentor Kevin Hoffberg likes to say, “If you want to change something, you have to change your values.” Getting really clear on what your values are takes time and needs to be done in advance of making decisions. The answer to the question of was it worth it, really depends on whether or not you got more of what you value than the other alternatives you considered. It is something that only we as individuals and organizations can determine for ourselves. We are the ones that judge our success by the outcomes in relation to our values.
In the end, I’m not opposed to asking the question, but I am troubled by when it is used unwisely and…
- asked after a decision has been made and is
- posed to complete stranger who may or may not share your same values.
I hope this helps. I’m always curious to hear what you think and willing to help with complex decisions because both are worth it.
I see a distinction (and often a gap) between what someone (actually) values, and their “values”. Presumably the former is a real-life decision and behavior driver, while the latter is a philosophical concept, a set of ‘ought-to’s’, even a pretense — or an ideal at best. It gets confusing, because of the degree of overlap that can occur.
Ben,
I couldn’t agree with you more. There is definitely a lot of confusion in how we all make meaning of the word value. There is the purley numerical discusion and then there is the deeper context that many people struggle with defining and then putting into action in a measurable way. It is a word that definitely requires some exploration, because everyone has a different perspective and meaning they hold when they hear it. Thanks for your interest and leaning into the conversation. I appreciate both.
For the more functional application and connotation of the word “value” as opposed to “Values” (the capital ‘V’, and the ‘s’ makes all the semantic difference!) — and often more consequential, except in the case of say a Warren Buffet: in a business setting I head for concepts like “added-value” and “value-added”, For me these are superbly rooted in the Marxist-Classical Economists’ concepts of “use-value”, which in its power, is akin to a Law of the Human Universe.
Ben,
It is clear you have given this alot of thought and I appreciate learning more about your perspective on it. I agree that value add is common corporate speak that most individuals equate to financial success. I think the complex thing in organizations is the compounding affect of more and more people and their own personal values and Values and then how they match with and support the corporate cultural values and Values. It get’s complex when you start adding more and more people with different perspectives on both and try to keep them directionally aligned with the overall organization. A web of inter-connected gimbal systems if you will. Much like atomic energy I suppose.