In our culture we pursue self-esteem as one of the most important issues for societal health. Knowing I have intrinsic value has considerable merit. Having ultimate confidence in myself, however, may not be as beneficial as we might assume.
We have become enamored with our advanced knowledge. We conclude our scientific and societal development has caused us to know what is true, right, ethical, and productive.
In reality, we still find significant disagreement over many issues. When the brightest and wisest minds don’t agree, what does that reveal about our ability to adequately know the truth?
In the United States our ultimate trust historically has been in our Constitution, representative democracy, and three separate but equal branches of government. We have a constitution that is enacted by a legislature, enforced by an executive branch, and ultimately interpreted by a supreme court.
The members of the Supreme Court are not just called lawyers, i.e., people of the law. They are referred to as “justices” – implying their decisions are just. Numerous decisions by this court are unanimous. This is encouraging until you get to the most significant decisions.
In chapter four of From Belief to Behavior: The Power of Belief in Business, I give an overview of ten of the top twenty-five Supreme Court rulings chosen without prejudice to outcome. The results?
Among other details noted in the book, only one Supreme Court decision was unanimous, and that one overturned a previous almost unanimous decision with the opposite conclusion.
The average decision was 6-3.
In fact, some of the most important decisions by the Supreme Court have hinged on a single “swing vote.” Obviously, the decision of a single “justice” is hardly a reliable way to determine what is right and just – particularly when four other “justices” have reached exactly the opposite conclusion after considering precisely the same information.
And there are even more unnerving issues explained further in the book.
This is not to denigrate the court, but to illuminate an issue of truth and authority that extends far beyond our country’s Supreme Court.
Every new generation critiques the obsolete beliefs of older generations, and every older generation shakes its head at the sophomoric bravado of the younger.
You rely regularly on your logic, wisdom, and experience, and so you should. Make decisions; be confident; don’t follow the rest of the lemmings. But if your decision-making prowess begins and ends with you, you are at greater risk than you know.
To cut to the chase, you need a final source of authoritative truth outside of yourself with greater understanding, wisdom, and experience than yourself. You internal decisions are more externally influenced than you know.
Everyone has an internal decision-making process. How a person comes to a decision – consciously or unconsciously, consistently or inconsistently – and what factors they consider reflect what they rely on as a final source of authority in making decisions.
In comparison to most, I’m assuming you have significant decision-making competence. The challenge is those you are comparing to, like yourself, are human.
Here are ten concise reasons you need an absolutely reliable source of authority outside of yourself as a baseline to effective decisions.
1. There are significant limits to your knowledge and wisdom.
2. Where the accuracy of your knowledge and wisdom stops, your productivity and impact fade.
3. Congruence with truth is productive. Incongruence is ultimately destructive – always.
4. If you have absolute clarity on what is true, you have a roadmap to success and an extreme advantage over your competition.
5. If you have absolute clarity on what is true, you can distinguish reliable business principle from fad.
6. If you have complete confidence in your source of authority, you can follow its guidance even if the why is above your pay grade.
7. Where I most need authoritative input is where I’m destructively clueless.
8. Where I most need authoritative input is where I’m often most resistant.
9. The accuracy of our assumptions is often unrelated to the tenacity with which we hold them.
Beyond Sunday is a faith-based coaching and consulting company. We have discovered a final powerful truth.
10. The Bible defines what is true not just what is ethical and good.
In a cultural climate where beliefs are widely divergent and information can be both suspect and deafening, having a trustworthy final source of authoritative truth is paramount.
Is such a source available?
If prolific executives have found the Bible to be highly functioning in the corporate world, what does that look like?
Aside from ethics and morals, what substantive direction can it give me to execute decisions in my corporate setting?
This is the basis for my upcoming book, The Ten Commandments of Business. Future blogs will define specifically what something like the Ten Commandments defines to create strategy, execute decisions, and establish business culture.
We exist to partner with executives and corporations in answering and defining these questions. Click the link if you would like to talk with one of our team on how we can partner with you.