Money may feed our stomach and ego and keep us warm, but being seen for our value feeds our soul

A few weeks ago, I convened an event. Some of the participants were our guests. The event was to learn about an earlier version of the Synergistic Accounting application.

Confession….I made the mistake of not actually using the very model we were learning in the arrangement of the event. Doh!

Here is what I might have done. Accounted for the input of myself and the two guests from the USA who gave their time, energy, commitment, and effort to the creation of this event. For example…time and cost away from other work, time away from family, energy cost of travel, time/commitment/energy/organisation to host five events previously to enable this one to get off the ground, the 100’s of conversations over decades that created the field for the event to happen, all of the logistics, support of many others, the technology of the material itself created over 26 or more years, the technology of co-ordination and logistics.

… then from the participant’s point of view, time away from family, holidays, work, travel costs, and the risk of participating in an event like this with many unknowns.

And from the few invited guests, what did I expect as their inputs? First, for them to show up fully and participate. This was achieved by all. Then other things like honour the multiple time/effort/energy/relationship costs of the three key players in many ways, including acts of generosity…supporting the ongoing work of Synergistic Accounting through both tangible application and case studies, asking specifically how they might support the three key players as a gesture of their thanks, actually speaking in to the knowing of the multiple costs of establishing this kind of event.

Some people have done this without being asked. Others have not. The fact of the matter is that it is my fault for making assumptions that they would do this without it being part of the clear agreement of engagement.

When we fail to be precise about the effort of contribution and the expectation of return, even if this return is not in the financial form only, then we are likely to be disappointed.

The wonderful thing about the application of Synergistic Accounting is that it focuses you on being precise. On ensuring all the values in all dimensions are considered, accounted for, and when there is an expectation of return, that too is precisely requested.

While the content of the workshop was amazing, I’m learning my lessons the hard way now.

Given my lifetime of feeling stepped over so often for my heartfelt and total commitment to projects and people, I have a deep commitment to the propagation of the work of Synergistic Accounting, as I know I am not alone with this. So many people show up day after day, giving their all, only to be overlooked, unseen for their contributions, and undervalued for their skills.

Money may feed our stomach and ego and keep us warm, but being seen for our value feeds our soul.

Photo credit: J. Lightning via Compfight