If given choice, hold onto #people over #ideas. Ideas can be regenerated, people cannot. #edchat #edu #QuoteADay #Day35 #AllAboutThePeople
There are times when we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place; where a choice we make either supports people, or supports an idea. In those instances, it is best to think about how your decision will make the people (and the idea) "feel."
The fact of the matter is (surprise, surprise) ideas can't feel, and while decisions can't always be made based on "feelings," we must understand the power of relationships. Once we've let a person go, he/she can be hard, if not impossible, to bring back. Tabled ideas, however, can be re-pitched when the time, and people involved, are right.
The main problem with picking an idea over a person is that while ideas may contribute intellectual capital, they never produce human capital. People, on the other hand, provide both. From a simple risk-benefit analysis (I know, I know, life is never that simple) the answer is clear.
Is there ever an instance where the idea should take precedence over the person? Yes, but only in rare circumstances. If the idea must be acted on immediately, and will positively impact a large number of stakeholders, and the person involved is simply providing resistance, than the idea is the logical choice. But, in my years in education so far, this type of situation rarely happens. Remember, individuals before ideas.
What do you think?
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