Attention, Meaning, and Meaningfulness

Self reflection does not lead to meaning. Meaning requires external/social acknowledgement. “…meaning is socially, not individually, conferred…. If one only tells one’s story to oneself, it remains arbitrary and ultimately without meaning or point, because no one else has acknowledged it, even as a story.”

To make meaning of some thing or some situation, we need some “other” to acknowledge it and pay it attention. “Every act of paying attention is in itself a means of conferring meaning.”

How do these thoughts apply to business practice?

To make meaning of your business, it must engage with others – clients and associates. No meaningful business is possible if it is isolated from the world.

Each engagement needs to be founded on paying attention and active listening. All parties need to be wholly present during each engagement to make meaning.

Read Michael H. Goldhaber’s Attention, Meaning, and Meaningfulness

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