Simplify Your Life Personally
Underlying our choices and actions are four orientations in life (also called LIFO Orientations) which are: Supporting Giving, Controlling Taking, Conserving Holding, and Adapting Dealing. These four orientations affect our choices, expectations, the effort we give and seek throughout our lives.
Life starts with us in the center of things. It is as if we are born into the center of a room with four walls. There is a window on each wall looking out to the world.
Because of our life experiences, and what has worked for us, most of us look at the world through one or two windows of our choice. We may learn to look through the window in front of us and to the right. Someone else may look at the world from the other windows.
As people, however, our orientation is not the same in every direction. How we are oriented to life directs us along a certain path with a plan for life. We need first to capitalize on the strengths and uniqueness of our life path and plan. And we need to better understand others who may have chosen a path down to the other side of the valley.
By understanding all four plans, we can live better, work better, and love better.
According to LIFO-Life Orientations Method1, four orientations show our behavioral styles as we approach life. These four orientations are:
Orientation 1: Supporting Giving
“If I prove my work by working hard and seeking excellence,
the good things in life will come to me”
Meet John, a dedicated employee who works hard and spends long hours pursuing the organizational & own goals. On top of John’s desk are his favorite quotes, one is for Nelson Mandela that says; “There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to help others without expecting anything in return.” For John, This is not just a quote, it is a thing he lives by, he has even been given the nickname of “John the Helping Hand” for he is highly cooperative.
John goes by a set of important values. The entire organization can remember a time where one of the workers was denied his rights and how John rallied with others and took a stand to get this worker’s rights. He does his best to ensure fairness and justice. John needs to work for a higher purpose.
Although John is well known for his righteousness and achievements, he is humble. Whenever he is acknowledged in a meeting for doing a good job he just lowers his gaze in humbleness. He is not aiming for a moment of glory, for his search is mainly to achieve excellence through hard work. John’s main goal is “Do What Is Right, Be Helpful”
Orientation 2: Controlling Taking
“If I get results by being competent and seizing opportunities,
the good things in life will be there for the taking.”
As we leave John, we cross Donna. She passes by in a hurry as she is talking over the phone giving orders to her sales team. Donna has been achieving the highest results since she took charge of this position for the past five years. Donna is known for snatching.
Yes, snatching opportunities. She rarely takes a day off, and if she has to go off on a vacation, she has to search for an opportunity. So, it’s never an only pleasure, pleasure needs to be mixed with business. For her, every place carries an opportunity, and every new person she meets is a new business chance.
Sometimes Donna’s team complains that she is a bit pushy. But, for Donna her motto is “Be in Charge, Get results”. To her, life is about achievement, therefore, she will never allow her team to slack.
Her team always recalls a very challenging client, and how she spent days and nights trying to make things up for them. To the extent that she finally decided to go spend a whole week at the client’s venue, monitoring activities herself, taking charge of the situation persistently till she won the client back.
Donna does not wait for permission, she initiates action. Whenever you see her, you get the feeling of urgency as she moves around fast directing her team. For Donna, the saying that best describes her is that of Sun Yat-sen (Chinese Presiden) “The key to success is action, and the essential inaction is perseverance”
Orientation 3: Conserving Holding
“If I think before I act and make the most of what I've got,
I can build up my supply of the good things in life.”
As we take our breath, we notice a quiet gentleman sitting opposite Donna. We glance at the name tag lying on a very neat, spick and span desk, Derek sat there thoughtfully. His eyes calmly resting on an excel sheet trying to analyze figures. Thinking slowly whether he should approve the decision of hiring a new team to support the logistical operations. A decision highly backed up by Donna.
Derek’s approach is to slow down & rationalize. The more reason he puts in, the surer he is of the decisions taken, as time gives him the chance. Derek is known for being cautious, he needs to study all aspects of a decision. You will never find Derek rush into a decision, in contrast to Donna, fast and furious makes Derek uncomfortable and uneasy.
Derek needs to do lots of analysis, gathering numbers to make sure logic is fully supported. It is not easy for Derek to jump into new ideas, creativity is not his style, rather it is maintaining the status quo. Angela Merkel’s (German Chancellor) saying “it is always important that I go through all the possible options for a decision” seems to have been said specifically about Derek.
Orientation 4: Adapting Dealing
“Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” Maya Angelou - American Author
A squeaky happy squeal cuts the silence as Tina enters the scene. She moves around the office wishing every single person a lovely morning. A routine to which Tina is used, and cares a lot. This morning, Tina did not enter the office empty-handed. She held a big box. John asks her curiously with his warm smile about the box. She whispers back that it’s Derek’s birthday. John nods back happily.
Tina is known for keeping a record of everyone’s birthday, she loves to celebrate happy occasions of those around. For Tina “Harmony” is the name of the game. Her motto is “know people, get along”. Through her good relations and spirit, she manages to achieve. Likeability is her passport.
Though Tina is not known for having a good capacity for handling conflict, yet, she is good with people. She listens well and knows everyone carefully. There’s no problem with Tina when it comes to changing plans or doing things differently as she is flexible.
She knows very well what to say and when to say it. Always leaving an impression of being tactful, to the extent that she is known for never upsetting anyone. She would take things in, and would not allow herself to express her anger at someone or a situation, as she wants to please everyone. Fun, and humor are what Tina is all about. “Better bend than break” is Tina’s motto, and this is how she maneuvers around life.
Taking a look at the above, are you a John, a Donna, a Derek, or a Tina?
Each of these orientations has a specific behavioral focus during favorable and unfavorable times depending on the levels of stress, conflict or, any unfavorable conditions the person is going through and views as such.
1Stuart Atkins (1982), The Name of Your Game: Four Game Plans for Success at Home and Work
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