Value by comparison…
Where metrics don’t apply, it is hard to express value except by comparison!
I like ‘X’ more than I like ‘Y’ or, this movie was not as bad as that other movie or, the pain in my right knee is more than the pain in my left knee!
By contrast, it is so much easier to say that this house is worth a hundred and twenty thousand Dollars more than that house!
How about, this programmer is better than that programmer because he delivered the same type of project 3 months sooner and it had 83% fewer bugs?
You are in trouble however, when you start confusing emotion for perceived value.
“He is a better programmer because he smiles at me more”.
Sounds silly? Well, it is! And there are an unbelievable number of people that take decisions based on such mixed up, emotion laden perceived values everywhere!
We are emotional beings, and life cannot always be measured by matriculated values. By the same token, masking an emotional driver with a made up value is at best, a self-deceptive cheap trick, not worthy of a measured valuable life!
It is good to compare, whether with metrics or without! But the true value will only be revealed when you apply a comparison that is consistent with the desired outcome! The converse could reduce your value by comparison!!!
