Start With N=1

N = 1.

If I were a scientist, this is how some of my experiments would read.

I’m wondering if some of yours read this way, too.

After all, as human beings our thoughts, beliefs, values, and worldview are ours. Some may originate from others, so at times our N may = 4 (our family) or it may = 8 (our work team) or thousands, millions or perhaps even billions. Although we tend to assimilate these into our own N of 1 worldview.

And, for that very reason, how I see the world can never be the same as any other. Such is the joy and challenge of our humanity.

I see this every day in our workplaces. An expectation that we’ve all read, digested and embodied the same N of X. Regardless of how many inductions, culture initiatives, workshops, team meetings, feedback sessions or whatever, we’ll each keep returning to our N = 1 worldview.

And it is only upon this realisation that we can shift our workplace approaches to embrace the unique individual human beings who make up the whole.

How do I have empathy and appreciation for your N of 1;

how might I bring elements of it into my own; and

how can we combine them to create an N of X that works together purposefully and in harmony?

Celebrating the N of 1, and the N of all, makes for a better way of work (and life), don’t you agree.

---