It can’t be measured, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter

How long does one nametag last?

For a question people ask me so often, there’s no good answer. Calculating the average shelf life of a single sticker is basically an unsolvable equation.

There are simply too many variables to consider.

First, there’s the issue of waste. I reuse my nametags on multiple shirts during the week, since it conserves paper. And so, there’s no way to properly track each sticker without requiring medication for obsessive compulsive disorder.

Second, depending on what kind of food I eat on any given day, certain nametags will get messier than others, and require replacement. Soy sauce is typically the culprit.

Finally, there’s the issue of weather. Summer means sweatier shirts, which causes nametags to either get soiled or simply peel off in a gust of wind.

Winter, however, means the outer layer nametag will be waterproofed, and therefore last much longer than a naked sticker exposed to the elements directly.

As you can see, my life is very complicated. Being the world’s foremost expert on nametags is no easy task.

But this isn’t about stickers, is it?

The simple fact that there’s no good answer to the shelf life question is a poignant lesson.

Because not everything in this life can be comfortably quantified. Not everything can be proved by objective standards. When we forget that, we constrain ourselves into a utilitarian quality to our thinking, solely assigning meaning and value according to effort and results, and we get too far away from doing things for their own sake.

It’s true that we live in a results oriented, metrics driven world. But just because you can’t measure something doesn’t mean it can’t matter.

Joichi, the innovation policy pioneer, wrote a beautiful essay on this concept. He argued that the whole idea of scholarship and rigor is really important, but it’s way overemphasized. Our society has an obsession with assessments and the ability to measure.

Because people are afraid. They’re afraid of risk, they’re afraid of not being able to measure things.

What are you still trying to measure that doesn’t need to be quantified?

That’s what runs through my mind every time somebody asks about the shelf life of one of my nametags.

It’s irrelevant. Calculating that metric isn’t a positive use of my energy.

Using nametags to bring myself and others to life, that is.

It can’t be measured, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What are you still trying to measure that doesn’t need to be quantified?