Strategy • Marketing • Communications • Social Media



October 24, 2009

Freedom of Choice | What Is Yours?

The waiter asks you what we want from the menu.

You call the service line and if you’re lucky enough to get a human within half an hour they will ask you how they can help.

You stand slack jawed in the cereal aisle trying to decide whether it will be flakes or loops.



Consumerism is built on the appearance of choice.
What happens when we have too much?


Imagine for a moment that I put pictures of 83 different cars in front of you. Each car is available in 17 different trim packages and 163 colors. How quickly would you choose the car you wanted? At one time I did have a car that was black currant with grey leather interior. But I digress.

If your real estate agent showed you 481 different houses, how closer would you be to calling the moving van? Crown moulding is not that compelling but the Catskill green granite counter top in the bathroom is fantastic.

What About Your Career?

On the surface, a free society fights to have career path choice.

It’s obvious, right?

You want to choose what do for a living – don’t you? You don’t want to feel stuck, you want a wide open menu filled with hundreds of delicious items.

Depending on the study however, most say that close to 80% are unhappy with their career path - why is that?



We can site family obligations, financial concerns, educational limitations but are those just excuses? Most of us have them; they are nice comfy memes to keep us from stepping too far out on the ledge.

Why don’t we make more choices?

It’s common to feel stuck, have self-doubt or limited with your ability to move. Imagine how that looks across an organization with hundreds of people feeling the same way. It may not appear to be related to your personal or business strategic objectives but it has everything to do with them.

In the free world during tight economic times you can try the - ’cause I said so - approach for a little while but it is a highly damaging long term plan.

Your most talented stakeholders will simply leave.

Some say that there are three reasons we do anything: to make money, to make a name for ourselves or to make a difference.

What is differentiates high achievers from the rest?

It begins with their ability to answer one simply question:

What Do I Want?

@knealemann
Helping you create your best business,
marketing and social media strategy.

You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

Rush - Freewill

image credits: gallup.com | corbisimages.com


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19 comments:

Excellent post Kneale. So often we forgot to stop what we are doing and ask ourselves that one simple question: What do I want?

It is so easy to follow the path of least resistance, continue in a career that is neither fulfilling or rewarding. Imagine how amazing life would be if one could choose the exact career that complimented their lives...? The good news is that we all have a choice, and it starts with the question you pose in your post.

"What do you want?"

Enjoyed this post. I know what I want. Do you?

What do you want to do when you grow up? RT @knealemann: New Post: Freedom of Choice - What Is Yours? http://bit.ly/UHFbW #strategy

RT @knealemann: New Post: Freedom of Choice - What Is Yours? http://bit.ly/UHFbW #strategy

Good read RT @mypromotion: What do u want 2 do when u growup? RT @knealemann: Freedom of Choice-What Is Yours? http://bit.ly/UHFbW #strategy

What do u want to do when u grow up? RT @knealemann: Freedom of Choice - What Is Yours? http://bit.ly/UHFbW #strategy

Hey Kneale,

Another keeper, thanks for this! I was stuck for years and finally realized I could do whatever I wanted. I now help my team do the same - great people, who get in their own way.

Have a great weekend!

I was unclear for years, now I am clear and funny how much easier it is now. Great post, thanks for sharing Kneale.

Great post!

RT @knealemann What is your choice? What is your dream? http://bit.ly/UHFbW

Awesome as always. LOVE the Rush quote (one of my faves..)

Hey Kneale, I always love your view of things. You always seem to remember the human side of business which is probably why you are a great strategist. This post made me realize that I keep using excuses and others' opinions for not reaching for my goals and dreams. Thanks!

K8 I can't add much more than that - you nailed it. Thanks for being part of the conversation :-)

Victoria, I think if you can be active in the ask then the answer changes all the time and that's not a bad thing. The problem is too many people are living blindly thorugh their lives without searching for those answers.

What Do I Want.

Maureen, I never have any intention of growing up.

Thanks Lydia!

Thanks for the RT, Wayne.

Thanks very much, Jackie :-)

Glen, we are allowed to be unclear and clear - that's part of life - but it's way more fun when figure out that it really is up to us!

Good luck, keep me posted on your journey. km

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