I’ve always believed that words matter. And I still do. Words DO matter, but, at the same time, words are cheap. What words mean and the connection words have to outcomes are not always as cohesive as they need to be. In fact, sometimes they are not aligned at all.
From a spectrum that starts with an absolute connection between what is declared and what occurs to an absolute disconnect or an outright lie, words and their intended outcome are not always the same.
I had a friend tell me not too long ago, when we were doing a business deal together…to trust him, because he had my back. I not only facilitated the deal, but I facilitated the deal the way he wanted the deal to take place.
The deal went through as he wanted. And, in fact, when there were various bumps along the road in that deal, I wrote off hundreds of thousands of dollars to make sure that he accomplished his objective he wanted throughout it all. After all, he told me he had my back.
At the end of the day, as it turns out, he didn’t. He didn’t have my back and he didn’t abide by his commitment.
Do I believe his words—uttered words—were insincere…or lies? Or did intervening events simply took place? I have no idea. And I probably never will.
All I do know is that while words matter, outcomes matter more.
As much as I am committed to words, from a legal background, from an artistic background, from a philosophical background, I often times want to simply say…”spare me the words, show me the outcome!”
Do words matter? Yes, of course they do. But how they manifest matters far more!
Original writing date: September 28, 2009