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"I know it`s true because I`ve seen it!"

How many of us buy into this idea, or know people who come from the so-called show-me state (Missouri)?

The word "empirical" means that knowledge is a result of experience or experiment. It`s the foundation of science. But the philosophy of empiricism means that all of reality can only be understood as a result of direct experience. Direct often is code for "personal" experience.

Put simply, a person who subscribes to empiricism says, "If I haven`t seen it, then it doesn`t exist. If I haven`t experienced it, it doesn`t exist. I`m willing to listen to others, and if I feel they`re trustworthy, then maybe what they`ve seen might exist. But I`ll want to verify that by seeing it myself before I believe it exists.....for real."

The interesting problem is that out of empiricism comes the philosophy of pragmatism---the pragmatist. There are lots of names for this, but it comes down to how much value does anything hold? If it has no obvious or direct value, then it isn`t "useful."

The logic of the pragmatist goes something like this. "I don`t see how this matters to me, therefore it serves no purpose. Since it serves no purpose, it doesn`t exist."

Pragmatism, sometimes known as "Yankee Know-How" has been spreading throughout society for the past lots of years. What we now see in modern corporations involves "operating profits," where so-called profits derive from saving money on expenses. It`s the pragmatic way to do things, saving money, cutting costs, streamlining, and making things "lean and mean."

"Let`s be realistic" is a code phrase for "let`s be pragmatic." The problem is WHO is making the determination of value? WHAT is the standard of value? And ultimately, how do you or they know?

Let`s say you`re starting a business. Your product is something unusual, new, or a different form of something that already is selling in the open market. You go to your friends and tell them you`re excited with this idea.

"Yeah, right. It`ll never work. What`s the point? There`s already something like that on the market. Why, I just saw something like that last week, really cheap, too!"

Take a moment. Rephrase what you`re hearing. They`re saying, "I haven`t seen it yet, so it doesn`t exist. I might see it later, but I still don`t see the value. Therefore, it serves no purpose [to me] and can`t exist."

One of the most important ways to fight against this pervasive pragmatism is to demonstrate value! That means in your Web site content, you MUST show the value of whatever it is you`re presenting.

You`re facing a cultural mountain cliff of pragmatism. People want the product first, then a refund policy that lasts forever. They want freebies, trial offers, two-fers, and all sorts of other ways to have your product first, THEN decide if its valuable. And then, if it`s only valuable on a personal and subjective basis.

A final and really nasty aspect of pragmatism goes like this: "Since I already know it has no value, then why do YOU believe it`s valuable? What I know is the standard of all things, therefore is Truth. If YOU say it`s valuable, then either you`re mentally unstable or you`re just plain stupid."

Go back in your memory. Recall the conversations you`ve had along these lines. Don`t you come away angry, but also anxious? Doesn`t it cause you to question your own sanity or your unwillingness to compromise?

When you get a burst of fear and anxiety in a conversation, you`re likely being hit with a psychological attack. When you get a burst of anger, you`re likely being hit with a philosophic attack.

Pragmatism offers a diabolical combination of both a philosophic and a psychological attack. Don`t fall for it. :-)

Craig, I don`t really know where you are going with this post but I know you, you have a point ... and I also know you will reply and help me understand.  

I include the quote because I respectfully disagree with it from a B2B standpoint. I deal mostly with B2B clients but do have B2C clients from time to time. 99% of B2B customers do not request or want the things you list. If B2B business operated this way, we wouldn`t be the strongest capitalist society in the world. And as you know, business makes the world go `round.

I believe most B2C businesses, and this includes any startup, can learn a few leasson from the many successful B2B businesses out there. If you do business on price and freebies and trials and giveaways, you will not be in business for long. Value and service still mean something to B2B, based on my experience ... and the best policy is a satisfaction guarantee - you`re satisfied or your money back.

I don`t know how many markets this company is saturating right now, but in ATL, we are being bombarded with radio ads from a guy who owns a company called LifeLock. The ads feature the CEO, Todd Davis, giving out his SSN to anyone listening. Gets your attention in a hurry. Go to his website and there he is, with his SSN plastered all over the home page. Pretty bold. AND pretty impressive. LifeLock is in the business of "locking" your personal info from indentity theft. He backs it up with a $1 million dollar guarantee.

I`m saying this guy understands marketing and he is passionate about what he is offering and he is SO confident and sure of his company`s abilities, he is willing to back it up. Are you? Is your company? I think most anyone can make a determination if his service is valuable or not once they hear his ads or review his website ... and he ain`t giving away nothing ... but he is offering a lot!

R@

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Richard Arnold · Key Concept Writers · Business Communication: The "Key" To Success· Law of Attraction Blog · Life Ain`t Brain Surgery Blog

I`m going to assume B2B translates as Business-to-Business?

Going on that assumption, this post is more directed to the individual person, whether or not they`re an entrepreneur. However, with so many people on SuN coming up with a new idea, this post speaks to a major issue taking place before they even start fiddling with a business plan.

When a business is up and running, it takes on a certain momentum. It gains credibility simply by existing as an actual business. The idea behind that business has already passed through the terrible, energy-sapping hurdles of pragmatism.

That`s NOT to say that having a pragmatic and realistic perception is meaningless! It`s to say that there`s a difference between using a type of thinking versus building an entire life philosophy out of that method!

Saving money is a wonderful thing, but if one`s entire life is totally devoted to and revolving around ONLY saving money, you already know the consequences. So too, being spontaneous is a great thing, but to live entirely on a whimsical basis is foolish.

My intent is to bring out into the open the unstated foundation of Pragmatism, a philosophy many people use, many people confront, but that nobody is clearly examining.

Metaphorically, if you want to change the end of the Mississippi river, is it easier to go to New Orleans and "move" it? Or would it be easier to make the trek to the very source of the river and move that little trickle? Of course I know that the river has countless "source" streams, but I`m illustrating the effort of change.

Forming an idea, incubating it, and gathering the personal courage to actually change one`s life toward following that idea is such a tiny, vulnerable thing. So many people turn to their friends, family, or spouse, and ask, "So....waddya think? Would this work?"

That`s the moment the stream begins to gather energy toward hopefully becoming a mighty river. And at that time, the creative innovator is most vulnerable. But to what? "Negative thinking?" What does that actually mean? It isn`t to just say...no!

It`s not so often that someone`s closest friends listen to an idea for a business and simply say, "No...that will fail." Usually, they have some sort of reasoning process. What`s the foundation of that reasoning process---that`s what I`m bringing forward. If the entire foundation of the "negative feedback" is false, one doesn`t have to waste time arguing point-for-point about essentially meaningless blather.

Pragmatism is so pervasive in our society, people almost automatically believe that to make an assessment of a new idea *requires* that they first determine if the idea has personal value only to themselves. That`s hogwash. Yet it happens repeatedly. Why? Because of a philosophic underpinning.

Without even an awareness of the core beliefs being used, who would know how to even begin an argument? How many ideas vanish before they`re even started simply because the creative thinker isn`t aware of subjective versus objective critique?

Watch an unattentive parent demolish a child`s adventure, dream, or other excitement. How do they accomplish such a terrible thing? By trying, under the guise of "constructive criticism" to foist onto the child`s world, their own adult sense of what they personally value. That`s the Pragmatic approach.

"Hey, ya gotta teach kids that the world is a tough place! They need to be realistic, not just lost in some silly childishness!"

No, that`s absurd! Children ARE childish...in the nature of being a child. They need to learn their own critical analysis, critical thinking, and how to separate subjective beliefs from objective evaluations. But a child`s fantasies and "business plans" are NOT pragmatic! They aren`t supposed to be! That, of course, doesn`t stop pragmatic parents from demolishing expectations, adventurous spirits, imagination, and creative problem-solving.

Craig, at first I was with keycon but I think I`m getting it now.

I think my very first experience was along the pragmatic line. I just think it kind of backfired. There were many that were doubtful and verbally let me know it, but, the one comment I remember most is below.

As I was about to go out the door for my first craft show, as nervous as anyone can be because I really needed this to work, my mother, in all her infinite wisdom, informed me that she hoped I wasn`t really planning on getting rich doing this, if people got rich at this, everyone would be doing it! Wow, really what I needed to hear as I was deciding whether to just get in the car or go in the bathroom and PUKE and not go! Nice way to start out.

I don`t know if she was scared for me, and was trying to lessen the disappointment that she was sure I was going to face or what the actual intent was. In any case I say a prayer to god everyday that I went to the car and moved forward.

I may be really wacked as I have tried to turn this negativity into a positive. Oftentimes when things are getting a little tough I remember those words and somehow they give me strength to go on.

The kicker for me now is, each time something really good happens or we pick up another account I think to myself and chuckle, good thing people think they won`t get rich doing this, if everyone got rich everyone would be doing it and I say another prayer of thanks that the pragmatists keep thinking it. Keeps the competition down, don`t ya think!

 

Alright, people have a lot of similar reactions to similar nay-saying. First of all, you were clearly anxious enough that you felt nauseous. It was a psychological attack.

The nice thing about feelings is they`re so fast, they can help you respond almost instantly to information your intellect takes a long time to comprehend. How often have you said, "Oh...if only I`d thought of that retort at the time!" You can use this high-speed processing to understand what sort of slam you`re getting, by feeling your body`s response. Anxiety/fear is psychological. Anger is philosophic.

The problem is that if you don`t think about or understand the realm of philosophy, you`re sort of being hit in the dark. So too, if you don`t understand psychology, you just get all bent out of shape and frustrated, not knowing what you can do about it.

It`s time for people to go on the offensive regarding these types of verbal attacks and abuse. But to do so, they have to have a better understanding, in general, of both psychology and philosophy. They also need some help in the defensive arts department. We have martial arts classes for women, safety and emergency aid classes, and so on. But we don`t have many philosophic self-defense classes. :-)

Your mother came at you with what appears a psychological button-pushing system. "You`re ridiculous because you`re trying to do something that nobody else is doing, therefore it won`t work." She essentially starts with "I`VE never seen anyone succeed at this, so therefore YOU won`t succeed." That`s empiricism.

Then she brought in the Pragmatist`s doomsday weapon: "Nobody finds a value in this because nobody is doing it. Therefore, since nobody`s doing it, nobody must see a value in it. YOU believe you see a value in it, so you must be either insane or stupid."

Step 1 in defending yourself against this nonsense is to sit down and develop the intrinsic value (not reasoning) of your product. "Does dip mix have any value whatsoever in its own right?" Another way to phrase it would be, "If I fell off a bus somewhere in America and had the ingredients, could I convince anyone around me that a dip mix is worth having?"

Step 2 is to become certain that your product stands on its own merits---it has its own value, completely independent of ANY personal and subjective valuation by a critical person. (Dip mixes have a food value, if nothing else. But they also save time during preparations for a party. Parties have value as socializing events and human beings are, by nature, social animals.)

Step 3 is to "feel" that blast of anxiety and immediately ask, "What`s the psychological ploy going on here?" That`ll occupy your mind enough to at least give you a start to overcome the nausea. (I know, this already happened, but it`s a useful example to set it in real time.)

Understand that at the high, strategic level, people tend to attack whatever they don`t understand and whatever is different (and new). To believe that you must somehow accommodate them and do their justifications FOR them, is to make yourself always vulnerable.

Pragmatism is a really nasty philosophy, often living hand-in-hand with narcissism and co-dependence complexes. It rests on a world-view that excludes anyone and anything other than whatever the pragmatist can perceive and understand on their own. Its fundamental weakness is an inability to comprehend intrinsic value.
If you can develop a certain knowledge of the true value of your product, that`s the first step to disengaging from the "battle."