John Kay on Obliquity

Obliquity is the notion that complex goals are often best achieved indirectly.

Happiness is the product of fulfilment in work and private life, not the repetition of pleasurable actions, so happiness is not achieved by pursuing it.  The most profitable companies are not the most dedicated to profit.  Few companies in the history of the world were as profit-oriented as Bear Stearns and Lehman – so profit-oriented, in fact, they were ultimately destroyed by the greed of their own employees.  Buildings designed as ‘machines for living in’ proved to be machines their occupants did not like living in.  The planned cities of the world, like Canberra and Brasilia, are dull and lifeless;  the great cities of the world, like Paris and London, grew over centuries with little assistance from any designer.

But surely we must be more successful in achieving something if we adopt it as our goal?  That would be true if we were clear about the nature of that goal, and knew not just all there is to know, but all we might hope to know, about the means of achieving it.   We find out about the real nature of our goals in the process of accomplishing them and our understanding of the complex structures of personal relationships or business organisations is necessarily incomplete.  We not only do not know what the future will hold but cannot anticipate even the range of possible events which might occur.  The world in which we operate changes, partly as a result of our actions.

The great utilitarian, John Stuart Mill, recognised in his autobiography that happiness was best achieved indirectly ‘aiming thus at something else [happy people] arrive at happiness along the way’.   Donald Trump expressed a similar sentiment ‘I don’t do it for the money.  I do it to do it.  Deals are my art form’.  The paradox of obliquity is all around us.

John Kay will be delivering one of The School of Life’s Sunday Sermons on Obliquity on Sunday 25 April, see http://www.theschooloflife.com/Sermons/

Comments

[Humane Pursuits]

Review of the book and its application to politics:

John Kay, the London economist, once took a trip from Paddington to Hyde Park Gardens on the London Underground. He went through several stops and changed trains once, taking some time to do so. Upon his arrival, he was told that he could have walked the distance in five minutes—because Paddington is only two blocks from Hyde Park Gardens. If he had asked when to rely on the Underground map, Kay noted, “the only sensible answer would have been, ‘You’ll learn as you get to know London better.’”

Did Kay go the wrong way because the map was wrong, because the map was inadequate, or because maps are bad?

Full review here: http://humanepursuits.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/book-review-obliquity-by-john-kay/

[Megan]

I'm a little dismayed to find you perpetuating the idea that Canberra is a 'dull and lifeless' city. I wonder if you have ever visited, and what criteria you are basing your opinion on. As a resident of Canberra, who has also lived in London and Sydney, it clearly cannot offer the same as cities with poulations ten times (and more) greater than Canberra. But the advantages and benefits are many: the national institutions, the extraordinary history of its planning and the vision of Burley-Griffin, the proximity to both mountains and sea, the high levels of education (over 90% of young people stay at school until they are 18), and the very low levels of unemployment. With Canberra approaching its centenary celebrations in 2013, I have paused to consider what London may have been like when it was only 100 years old. I expect that Canberra is a far more attractive place to live now than Londinium may have been at the same time in its history. As a modern city, Canberra has been able to achieve a degree of egalitarianism that 'great' cities cannot.

[Megan]

Happiness is subjective like success. I know there are people who think success is equal to happiness, and maybe it really does work for them. Using your example, Donald Trump must really be happy with what he does, and he's successful, that's why he keeps doing what he does. To me personally, happiness is contentment. Finding that perfect balance in your life to do that things you love to do. So, yeah, it's kinda like finding peace.
Finding the inner peace amidst the turmoils of life.
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[Chris]

Perhaps Happiness is similar to what is said of Peace: There is no way TO it, it IS the way.