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Gauge - Calibrating Stamps

We started with the premise that we checkpoint or assign stamps to the people we interact with. In essence, once we have made our minds about something or someone, the rate of change to that decision is glacier slow, if not zero. This also doesn't take into consideration that the same person does react differently in separate but identical circumstances because we falter, improve, whine, and have eccentricities. A productive and hard-working person having met with a fender bender may be under-performing for days.

An improved, albeit more difficult, approach is to measure each stamp as a gauge. Where each quality is a waxing and waning value, almost like a speedometer. This setup lets us aggregate each interaction or hearsay as having a positive/negative effect on the gauge. Every person gets converted into a profile (a collection of data) that can be used in culmination for an objective result. One would weigh rumors really low (maybe even zero, depending on the source) unless it is fact-checked.

A neat side-effect is an indication of one's emotional state. A data point that has a positive effect on the gauge could mean an attempt to work on oneself. Less interjection by your colleague who would previously hijacked the meeting. If it had a negative effect, one could be disengaged, experiencing an ordeal or reacting to a misunderstanding. Having lost their dog, someone may be seen as slacking off.

Now for the kicker, what would this mean if applied to one's self? To begin with, we seldom tend to assign negative stamps to ourselves. It is easier to think that we are hard-working, but would all our actions objective push the needle on the gauge?


The question remains, how is this shift in perception going to help? A gauged introspection avoids biases, encourages self-awareness and transformation. Once you prioritize your goal stamps, inspect your portfolio of planned actions (smarter goals) to identify which have a positive effect on the gauge. 

Gauges within a team pose a catch 22 with continuous improvement and candor; we need more data perpetually analyzed. Without candor, you realize a lack of data and objectivity. Without CI, there will be a fear of failure and a hesitance to experiment. "Blameless postmortem" is a practical exercise that helps achieve the trifecta.

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