We all go about things in our own way, right? We’re all individuals expressing ourselves uniquely, and the way we act or react depends greatly on our individual personalities and internal processes and methods.

 Most of the time, let’s say even the vast majority of the time, like 99% of the time, our own way works just fine for us. We get through life—how we interact with others, how we make decisions, how we respond to our social environments—just famously.

 However, something important must be acknowledged: If I work in my own way, that means everybody else works in their own way as well! And I simply can’t get through life without other people. Check out a previous blog, Other People, for an in-depth discussion of this blatantly obvious fact.

 I’ve discussed interacting with others for benefit in previous blogs. Now I am turning to Deciding and Achieving. What THEE illustrates is that, in general, there are seven basic methods for deciding and achieving. Let’s take a look at the imaginist, from the inside and out.

 Inside the Imaginist 

An organization, in its essence, is composed entirely of people. The buildings, the desks, the equipment are all secondary because all of it is useless without people. 

And what are people? Creative, emotional beings that want fulfillment and a sense of worth. When people are given the freedom and encouragement to be creative and innovative, an organization will see the best of them in action. 

 It is far too often that people, the most fundamentally important aspect of any endeavor, are ignored, lost in procedure or the pursuit of an objective. 

We must allow people to express themselves, to share their feelings, concerns, worries, and dreams. Through this, they will develop a deep commitment to a goal and the goals of an organization. 

When people are committed to the goals of the organization, they are driven, creative, and fulfilled when achievement occurs. 

Who is this? 

If you feel that you relate to this person, you might be an imaginist.

You are the quintessential people person. You can be charismatic and may gain the deepest and most meaningful relationships with those with whom you deal with.

 You tend to view abstractions like “the self,” inner-states, and “the heart” as more important than that which we deal with in physical reality. Achievement and decision for you comes in ethereal and informal ways.

You might do well in a human resources department or as a counselor or coach where the focus is on a person’s aspirations and feelings.

Outside the Imaginist 

It is entirely possible that you are reading this with a certain amount of distaste. But imaginist deciding and achieving is only one of the seven approaches to deciding and achieving.

If you aren’t an imaginist type of decision-maker, well you handle decisions in some other way that you are convinced is generally best. And how you view this preoccupation with problems, facts and best solutions will be dependent on that.

For example:

• An empiricist might view the imaginist take on deciding and achieving as follows: “The real issue is information. Facts are devoid of feelings. Emotions and human interest often distorts the truth.” 
• A structuralist might think: “People are tools of an organization, nothing more. If their “feelings” get in the way of them doing their job, we can always find someone else.” 
• The rationalist might say: “Aspirations are certainly important, but you’ve got to make them clear and ground them in the real world so they are relevant for the project or organization.” 

Imaginist deciding and achieving can be incredibly important for those big life decisions like deciding on a career or who you will spend your life with. These decisions must come from deep within a person.

That’s why it’s important to understand the imaginist approach. Chances are that it could change your life.

 Come back next week for the systemicist.