In American schools when I was growing up (back when dinosaurs roamed the earth), we had grades. A was the best, B was good, C was passing. D was very bad and F was the worst. F meant you failed. These could be modified with plus or minus, except for F, which was just F. These were the grades that we received on tests, papers and the report cards we took home at the end of every term. Good teachers generally noticed if students made an effort, and an expresion was born: "you get an A for effort." People say this when the result is not great but the intention is good and the person in question has worked hard.
Obviously it's important to make an effort to improve, to do a good job, to get good results. But I've come to think that the most important thing about making an effort is clarity. It's sad (and inefficient) when people make a lot of effort in the wrong direction. So it's important to be really clear about what kind of effort to make. Sometimes it's not obvious, either.
It would be great to hear your thoughts about this, especially about the idea of an "A for effort." Are the result and the effort made equally important, or is one more important to you?
Depending on the issue. I think that at work we usualy have expectations in terms of results but in other context, for example with kids or old people, the effort is more important than the results because you cuold be hopping for their improvement.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Also, when people are beginning something, making an effort may be the most important element, and we expect the results to follow.
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