Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Not everything that can be counted counts
I came across this phrase from Albert Einstein just a few days ago:
Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.
Most of the time people look at something the way they know it. Companies look at numbers because it’s the “right way” to measure success. Bosses don’t care about people resigning because an employee is just a headcount. And parents look at their child’s exam score because they believe the higher the better. Well, you get the meaning. They think everything that can be counted counts.
Perhaps it’s easier to count/measure things that way because at the end of the day, things that can be counted are less “complex” than things which cannot be counted. For example, the departure of an influential employee which affects the morale of the team is something which cannot be counted. Thus, most bosses won’t be bothered by it. But that does not mean the departure is not important. It is! This actually happened to a friend of mine before. In the end, the performance of the entire team dropped drastically and the bosses have no idea the reason behind it.
I believe at the end of the day, things that cannot be counted should not be neglected. It’s not wrong to count what can be counted but people should know that is just one side of it. And most often than not, the things which really matter in our life are the things which cannot be counted. The relationship, the communication, the love, the care, the sincerity, etc.
After all, these things which cannot be counted are what makes us (human) interesting, isn’t it? I can’t imagine someone counting how much he/she loves another person using figures and numbers. :)
Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.
Most of the time people look at something the way they know it. Companies look at numbers because it’s the “right way” to measure success. Bosses don’t care about people resigning because an employee is just a headcount. And parents look at their child’s exam score because they believe the higher the better. Well, you get the meaning. They think everything that can be counted counts.
Perhaps it’s easier to count/measure things that way because at the end of the day, things that can be counted are less “complex” than things which cannot be counted. For example, the departure of an influential employee which affects the morale of the team is something which cannot be counted. Thus, most bosses won’t be bothered by it. But that does not mean the departure is not important. It is! This actually happened to a friend of mine before. In the end, the performance of the entire team dropped drastically and the bosses have no idea the reason behind it.
I believe at the end of the day, things that cannot be counted should not be neglected. It’s not wrong to count what can be counted but people should know that is just one side of it. And most often than not, the things which really matter in our life are the things which cannot be counted. The relationship, the communication, the love, the care, the sincerity, etc.
After all, these things which cannot be counted are what makes us (human) interesting, isn’t it? I can’t imagine someone counting how much he/she loves another person using figures and numbers. :)
Labels: Current Affairs
just my 2cents at 11:14 AM |
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