Principles also contribute to competence in leadership because they contribute to competence in the individual. It is after all the individual who communicates or leads. However, when fundamental principles are disregarded in favor of speed, expediency, or quantity, the deficiency affects many other areas as well. Therefore, to understanding communication, it is not only important to understand the components of communication, but it is necessary to understand the fundamentals of individual competence. Individual competence cannot be separated from the ability to listen, speaking, write, communicate, and lead. From this perspective, it is not important to learn tricks to “hook an audience,” but to become a compelling, interesting, and capable individual.
It is very natural to want to be sure of an individual’s intention particular in business or contractual settings where a great deal of value may be at stake. Sometimes the communicator translates this to mean that the messenger is also unimportant. The effect inattentiveness can have on marital, business, or friendly relationships over time is obvious. However, there is another inescapable result. Inattentiveness leads to a very poor understanding of the subject matter. The subject matter could be a conversation, but it could also apply to a contract, a test, a lecture, a meeting, a road trip, a walk on the street, etc. Individual survival, progress, and success are all tantamount to the ability to concentrate. Therefore, it is extremely perplexing that a majority of social situations in America (and elsewhere) and probably the “socialization” process itself is completely inimical to the principles of focus, concentration, and attentiveness. It would be perfectly reasonable to assume that people would want to hone to an exponential degree any ability that helps with individual survival and success certainly as a part of any elementary school curriculum. Yet, distractions of all kinds are emphasized from unfocused chatter to an emotional obsession with trivial matters. This is seen in the advertisements that flood the printed and broadcast media. This level of distraction is seen in school textbooks that are often littered with irrelevant pictures and discussions on topics that do not enhance the text’s main subject, but further obfuscate difficult ideas. This is particularly true in science textbooks that are often much more focused on “fun” than on elucidating the concepts. This culture practice of distraction and inattentiveness is also seen in basic communication, again where individuals have been trained largely in throughout school to focus on feeling rather than sequence, order, or the logical process of thinking. These are the challenges of leadership and effective communication. They represent the challenge of effectiveness overall because effectiveness greatly depends on attentiveness to detail, attentiveness to presentation, attentiveness to clarity, etc. If attentiveness is not practiced because as a principle it is not considered too important in basic training, it is a practice that will not be developed. Consequently, competence and quality will suffer in everything since quality and competence depend on individual ability. This is one of the reasons this book focuses on value and its importance for the development of individual character. Ultimately, what individuals do, how they think, and the results they can expect all depend on their individual capabilities.
This is one of the observations this book and the Shinsei Method™ often stress. To pursue principle as a reference and guide in thought, decision-making and action, is to gain certain “by-product” benefits. Knowing that inattentiveness leads to misunderstanding, which in turn can lead to disappointment, accidents, and injury; it is logical to conclude that inattentiveness increases risk and exposure to liability (liability in both the strict insurance sense, and liability in the more general sense of liability for incurring some cost or problem that would not have been present with a more careful or prudent approach). Therefore, inattentiveness is risky. This is a preventable risk. This deduction also implies that attentiveness helps to reduce risk and potential cost. The act of being more attentive then has benefits far beyond just permitting individuals to achieve a higher level of understanding about some situation. These benefits of the principle of attentiveness are by-products of being more attentive. So, why do so few people seem to practice being attentive when the benefits that accrue to them are so many?
This is a perplexing question. Even when the benefits for a certain policy, procedure, or practice are glaringly obvious, there is often resistance to implementing the more helpful approach. Why? It is not something inherent to humanity. People can practice taking the more helpful approach independent of some external compulsion to do so such as a penalty, a fee, a loss, etc. In other words, people could be more proactive in striving to prevent costs, risks, and liabilities. As a manager or leader this cost, risk, and liability reduction would be the bare minimum expectation. However, an individual need not be in a leadership or management position to acknowledge the benefit in certain fundamental principles like attentiveness. Principles like attentiveness are so basic and have so many profitable aspects, that it is hard to miss their importance in everyday life most particularly for communication where listening (i.e. attentiveness represents the other part of communication, yet it is rarely practiced and few seem to strive to improve this important ability.