That’s it for the seven approaches to deciding and achieving. If you read all of those, I’m impressed—kudos to you.

 People are fascinating, aren’t they? We are so diverse and we find all of these different ways to make the world work for us.

 One thing that you should realize if you’re interested in how people decide and achieve is that it all happens in context. You might be a rationalist in one situation and an imaginist in another—and that’s great! Of course, someone else might approach the same situation differently, which is why it’s good to know about all of the approaches.

Then there are combinations of approaches that fit particular situations and some that simply are terrible for some situations—but there I go, probably sounding like a systemicist, eh?

Also, I hope you don’t feel that to understand this stuff, you have to memorize it. Really, so much of THEE and its principles are meant to be understood intuitively and applied without thinking too much about it.

This all goes along with the idea of the 21st Century Enlightenment that we here at TOP are pushing. It’s just about being aware and alert and attentive to yourself—who and what you are—and others—who and what they are, then acting responsibly with that in mind.

 Combine the seven decision approaches with the seven mentalities in Interacting for Benefit and you can really start getting a handle on how the people in your circles are operating.

Why care? 

As I write this, I am traversing North America at 35,000 feet. Miles above the Earth, traveling at nearly 600 mph, dozens of the people around me are connected to the rest of the world through their laptops, iPads, Blackberry’s, Tablets, or whatever. Not only is this just another reminder of how far mankind has come, it’s a sign of the times. Some people see a bunch of people with their faces buried in a one kind of screen or another and think it’s the end of intelligent life on this planet. I see a revolution.

All these folks are doing things—or trying—and they’re communicating with others to do it. Those others might be on the East coast of China or in Frankfurt, Germany or Montevideo, Uruguay. Ideas are flowing, people are talking, interacting, hoping to make a positive change in their world. And with the expanded circle in which people are now operating, we need a new way of approaching social, organizational, business, and personal life. That’s where understanding things like deciding and achieving approaches and interacting for benefit mentalities comes in.

 It really is possible to envision a world where societies and organizations work well, but we must first truly understand each other, and that’s what all of this is about from my discussion on politics to how people interact to how people make decisions.

It may seem optimistic, but there’s a lot happening right now that gives us reason to be and chances are, if you’re reading this, you are probably hopeful, positive, and proactive about the future as well.

The trick is to apply it all in whatever way is best and appropriate for you, and I or THEE can’t help you there. That’s where knowing yourself and those around you comes in.

THEE is just a series of tools, much like the tools a carpenter uses. But the tools don’t tell him what to build.

As always, I welcome your comments and feedback. Thanks!