Governance and Development Living

by Cenen Herrera
Writing From Martinez, San Francisco Bay Area, CA

Rating is evaluating probabilities. Whenever there is greater than zero probability of losing something, we are faced with risks. In virtually all aspects of life, each of us has greater than zero probability of losing something. The question that arises then is: “what is that something?”

In an attempt to manage well our life's balance sheet, we go for higher risk activities expecting to derive some benefits in the future. Such benefits are the expected returns from the sacrifices or risk-taking activities that we engage in at present. Whether we like it or not, we are rated by our peers and the members of our community, i.e., our family, friends, bosses or subordinates, teachers, students, and practically all the stakeholders of our life. The rating that we get from our stakeholders is actually our shadow. Great, good or not so good, the shadow of our life could spell the difference between success and failure. The important thing to remember is that Best Behavior is Good Governance, and embracing the life-time developmental mode really means being genuinely humble in accepting our mistakes whenever we are engaged in challenging enhancement opportunities.

Development living is caring for others and leveraging from others strengths. Ratings indicate how we are doing in this life. If the rating comes from our loved ones, we would normally attribute them to our genes, i.e., our parents’ traits or character. On the other hand, if the rating comes from our boss, peer or subordinate, we would feel our worth or our worthlessness depending on what level of rating we receive. The good governance mindset continuously allows us to embrace genuine personal humility by possessing that fierce resolve to be professionally patient in transforming our behavioral patterns from mediocrity to first degree perfection.

First degree perfection is the ultimate goal of good governance. It is a state of mind that brings the best out of one’s character and actual works that underpin the driver of creative change.