Quantity over quality

As I explored progress is bigger and more, I realized that there is so much overlap with quantity over quality. For these reflections I will focus on the specific details of the characteristics of quantity over quality. Before I do, I wanted to share a story from the bible that I’ve been thinking about that feels like it sums up the consequences of quantity over quality. The story can be found in the Sermon on the Mount in the Book of Matthew chapter 7 versus 24–27:

The Wise and Foolish Builders

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Sometimes we get so focused on progress, the speed of it and the quantity, that we can lose sight of the consequences of being like the foolish builders.

Quantity over quality shows up as:

• most or all resources directed toward producing quantitatively measurable goals
• things that can be counted are more highly valued than things that cannot, for example numbers of people attending a meeting, newsletter circulation, money raised and spent are valued more than quality of relationships, democratic decision-making, ability to constructively deal with conflict, morale and mutual support
• little or no value attached to process in the internalized belief that if it can’t be measured, it has no value
• discomfort with emotion and feelings
• little or no understanding that when there is a conflict between content (the agenda of the meeting) and process (people’s need to be heard or engaged), process will prevail (for example, you may get through the agenda, but if you haven’t paid attention to people’s need to be heard, the decisions made at the meeting are undermined and/or disregarded)
• connected to perfectionism, one right way, I’m the only one, and right to comfort because of the ways in which process, which cannot be numerically measured, requires emotional presence and intelligence whereas product, when it can be numerically measured, feels “safe” and controllable​
• short-term thinking, urgency thinking, either/or thinking in the consuming effort to meet often unrealistic quantitative goals (numbers)

Antidotes include:

• honoring the ancient Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) philosophy that the decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future
• insure that any cost/benefit analysis includes all the costs, not just the financial ones, for example the cost in morale, the cost in credibility, the cost in relationship to living beings, the cost in the use of resources
• include process goals in your planning, for example make sure that your goals speak to how you want to do your work, not just what you want to do
• ask those you work with and for to establish goals and evaluate performance holistically; for one example, set both content and process goals (what you do and how you do it) aligned with the values of the organization and/or community​
• make sure you and/or your community or organization has a values statement that expresses the ways in which you want to do your work; create this as a living document that people use in their day to day work
• look for ways to measure process goals (for example if you have a goal of mutually respectful relationships, think about ways you can measure how you are living into that goal);
• ​​learn to recognize those times when you need to go off the planned agenda in order to address people’s underlying concerns with the knowledge that doing so will result in a more solid product in the long term
• distinguish between growth, which is necessary and organic, and the conditioned desire for “more” — more stuff, more transactional power, more people, more … for its own sake
• consider adding measures that keep you grounded in what’s important — how many times did we laugh together today? how many times did we express gratitude? how many times did we allow silence? how many times did we allow dissent?(the agenda of the meeting) and process (people’s need to be heard or engaged), process will prevail (for example, you may get through the agenda, but if you haven’t paid attention to people’s need to be heard, the decisions made at the meeting are undermined and/or disregarded)
• connected to perfectionism, one right way, I’m the only one, and right to comfort because of the ways in which process, which cannot be numerically measured, requires emotional presence and intelligence whereas product, when it can be numerically measured, feels “safe” and controllable​
• short-term thinking, urgency thinking, either/or thinking in the consuming effort to meet often unrealistic quantitative goals (numbers)

Self-reflection to action questions

a. What does this look when you act with a quantity over quality mindset?

For this one, I’m typically the person that is trying to ensure that we pay close attention to the process and consider all the angles. More often then not I’m accused of slowing things down too much. Since I’m surrounded by a consistent pressure of urgency and expectation of quantity over quality instead of patience and quantity AND quality, it’s sometimes hard to hold my stance on principle. I will give in to the quantity over quality because I get tired of fighting or know the conclusion won’t change.

b. What feelings do you have when you act with a quantity over quality mindset?

More often than not, I am frustrated that I gave in to the quantity over quality. I regret not doing more. I regret the outcome when it continues to perpetuate harm. Very rarely am I relieved that I was wrong.

c. What policies and/or practices does your work/organization implement that reinforces or encourages a quantity over quality mindset?

Like most organizations, we have a high amount of focus on numeric outcomes for our work.

d. What actions can you take to go from transactional goals to transformative goals?

I would like to work more with outside evaluators and researchers that have started to map out how we can measure and value process as well as quality of life type of goals in the work. I will incorporate this knowledge into my work.

e. What benefits do you think you would get from applying more of the replacement characteristics?

I am hopeful that we can achieve more justice in our work if we balance the focus of our work with ensuring it is done on solid ground and not sand.

Action Plan Statement

From now on when I feel the urge to act with a quantity over quality mindset, I will incorporate more types of measures for process, results, and impact of those we serve and those in the process because it provides me with hope to achieve a more justice work and society. I will also support my work/organization to address a quantity over quality mindset by addressing our goal and agenda setting process. When I do act with a quantity over quality mindset, I will give myself some grace, acknowledge the impact I had on others, and engage in repair work by checking in with those I impact.