When you buy something that requires assembling at home, do you get out the instruction papers, read them, and follow them or do you jump in and start putting it together?
Options and Procedures are two ways in which a person can organize work, situations, and even their life. It’s amazing how people develop a way of organizing themselves as they go about their daily lives, and that way of organizing themselves becomes so habitual that it leaves a lasting impression on their thoughts, feelings, speech, and behavior.
I Like to Keep My Options Open
A person who is operating from meta-program options considers their alternatives is more likely to look for openings and possibilities. Because they are used to having a large number of options available to them, limiting their choices might be difficult for them.
They have the ability to come up with fresh ideas and methods and put them into practice. It’s common for them to shop without a list and peruse the aisles to see what intriguing meals or uses they may find.
They enjoy designing and making stuff. It’s fun for them to start new things (but not necessarily finishing them). Innovators and improvers are in their ranks. Those people are rule-breakers and benders of the rules. Rather of acting maliciously, they’re simply looking for more options. A square peg will be modified or improved to fit into a round, oblong, or star-shaped hole if one is available.
The downside is for the most part, they’ll have a hard time adhering to a procedure they’ve designed themselves. Step-by-step approaches are sometimes required. A sequence-following ability is required for anything having to do with safety and/or quality control.
I Like to Do Things the Right Way
A procedure can be useful. Procedural images evoke strong unpleasant emotions in many of us. They may be viewed as unimaginative, dogmatic, and mindless by certain people. Essentially, habits are types of procedures that are the brain’s way of saving energy.
People seek for procedures in order to complete activities correctly. There is an answer at the back of this book. It is as if they believe there will always be a flawless solution. In general, they enjoy completing what they begin.
Procedures are necessary for maintaining public safety. It works for sales process too. “Words That Change Minds” author Shelle Rose Charvet quotes research showing that persons who follow a procedure sell three times more than those who don’t. A sales script might be nearly impossible to follow for consumers with a variety of options.
When shopping, an extreme procedure person may have a specific time and a shopping list. They would follow a set routine when it came to shopping.
The downside is even though they are good at following procedures, they have trouble coming up with their own, and this leaves them adrift when no process is in place. They need the steps.
If you want to be a great learner and if you want to be on the cutting edge of things, you need both procedures and options. They are necessary and essential.
As a meta-program, procedures is not only great, but essential when learning something new. You won’t be able to build a solid foundation for your knowledge if you don’t do this.
As a meta-program, options are at the core of creativity and innovation. It’s also a way to come up with creative solutions to problems and to discover new areas of study.
First time encounters necessitate that you follow the instructions exactly. Take it one step at a time, and don’t skip any of the steps. Start from the beginning and work your way up. There are a variety of skills that can be learned in this manner, from playing the piano to typing to building a motor to driving a car to cooking. Make sure you follow the directions the first time around. You’ll learn the fundamentals and principles of the process.
Once you’ve mastered it, you can begin to inquire, “How else could I accomplish this?” “Which steps aren’t essential?” When asked, “How can this be made easier?” “What will happen if I do that?”
When doing something, there are times when you should be stubborn and even rigidly procedure, and there are times when you should be wildly creative and choose the most outlandish option that you can think of. And if you combine the two, if you create a synergy between procedures and options, then you will have a truly comprehensive toolbox for finding solutions to problems. Here’s some examples:
#1. You can bring options to your procedures and “optionize” your procedures.
“That is such a great procedure for doing that! What other options can you imagine enriching this?”
#2. You can bring procedures to your options and “procedurize” your options.
“What a great option! And if you really want to keep it, you need to do what you just did exactly, step-by-step each time you want it!”
Strict or Loose
Instead of focusing on individual personalities, the Meta Programs seek to habitual patterns of thinking and behavior. As a general rule, most of us tend to fall somewhere in the middle of a continuum, however this can change under stress. Also, our choices can shift based on the current environment. In order to get the kids ready for school, we may need to be very procedure-oriented, yet switch gears when we get to work.
If you manage people, understanding the preferences of each member of your team for options or procedures can be really valuable. When you ask for a progress report, you will know what to expect and how to assign work. A better understanding of your team members’ unique perspectives can help you tailor your own messages to their needs.
Curated by Danielle Tan.
Reference:
- [Certified_meta-coach] 2022 Morpheus #21 STRICT OR LOOSE by L. Michael Hall Ph.D.
- https://nlp-mentor.com/options-procedures/
