As Published in Business 2 Business , July 2006

Different Points of View: Generational Values

By Ira S Wolfe

"I'm pretty conservative and laid back, but the big thing is to just be careful,” Ben Roethlisberger told reporters in May 2005. “I'm not really a risk taker." 

Well, just a little over one year later, Roethlisberger was seriously injured when riding his motorcycle without a helmet. When asked last year about the dangers of this, "It's a choice," Roethlisberger said. "I just get out there and relax, I don't try to take too many risks.”

For those of you who may not recognize the name, Roethlisberger is the 24-year-old quarterback who led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 2006 Super Bowl victory after winning thirteen straight games just a year earlier as a rookie.

I guess Ben is entitled to his point of view. Others, including the team owners, coaches, teammates, fans, and his family might disagree.   Reckless is one word that might have popped into their heads.

I’d like to suggest another:  “Challenger.”

Challenger is just one of four points of view found when studying and discussing values.  A point of view is merely the results of combining different beliefs into value systems that in turn drive our behaviors. 

Each of us have both end values and mean values.  An end value might be world peace or personal happiness.  A means value might be treating everyone fairly or looking out for yourself first. Some of us share these values. Others don’t.  That leads us to different points of view.  

Differences in points of view if not understood lead to conflicts.  What is interesting, although not necessarily surprising, is that the same risk taking and reckless abandon the fans adored and teammates respected about Ben on the playing field is now being criticized as careless and stupid. 

Challengers, like Roethlisberger, place high value on personal satisfaction and self-preservation. They continually search for experiences that feel good to them, even if they seem risky or self-indulgent to others. Personal rights and priorities come first.  Their approach to life is “get-it-while-you-can.”   Challengers believe people should just do their own thing and delayed gratification is to be avoided. 

Challengers choose independence, freedom and ambition as their means to their personal satisfaction end.  If the Challengers’ point of view sounds familiar, it is – think Generation X.  Conformity to rules, policies, and tradition is accepted only if it is in sync with their priorities.  They want the freedom to explore, try new things, no matter how unconventional it might be. They want to be upwardly mobile, to achieve power and status, and live the good life as quickly as possible.

Now let’s stop for a minute: how did you feel when you read about the Challengers?  Where you thinking, “That sounds like a pretty good way to live” or was your blood starting to boil?   

If stupid, self-centered, and irresponsible were words that came to mind when you first heard about Roethlisberger, you might be a Traditionalist.  Traditionalists are to Challengers what George Bush is to Madonna.

Responsible living is the key end value for Traditionalists. They live to do what is best for the family, organization, team, community, and so on. Their purpose: make the world a better place.  As opposed to the “me” Challengers, Traditionalists value the “we.”

They don’t mind giving more than get and believe it is their duty to work hard.  Rewards come in time for Traditionalists. 

Traditionalists value devotion, loyalty and dependability. They make commitments to others – and keep them!  They play by the rules and expect others to do so.  They pull their own weight, stick with you through thick and thin, and their word is their bond.

If my description of Traditionalists gave you goose bumps and you long for the good old days, there is a reason – you likely see the world from a Traditionalist point of view.

Which now brings me back to Roethlisberger.  How you feel about him not wearing a helmet, while riding what even the manufacturer has called the fastest street-legal motorcycle on the market, will depend on your point of view. To the Challenger, “life is a bitch, then you die.”  To the Traditionalist, you have an obligation to serve, honor and obey. 

Roethlisberger described himself as “conservative, laid back, and careful.”  These are not words that come to mind when I read about Ben Roethlisberger.  But then again, that’s my point of view.

A lesson managers can learn from all this: Caution should be used so that your own point of view doesn’t cloud your understanding and appreciation for other points of views.  Viewpoints are not bad nor good.  Each point of view has produced history makers, great leaders and great men and women as well as eccentrics, heroes, and despots.  Prominent traditionalists include Walt Disney and John Wayne, Ann Landers and Ronald Reagan, Bob Hope and John F. Kennedy.   Challengers include George Patton and Mae West, Andrew Carnegie and Madonna, Babe Ruth and Adolf Hitler.

Remember, what YOU value is just YOUR point of view.

To learn more about these and the other two viewpoints (In-Betweener and Synthesizer), I’d highly recommend reading “The Leader Within: Learning Enough About Yourself to Lead Others”.