I remember during a job interview for Santex‑net (now SantexGroup) back in late 2007, before the birth of the modern smartphone. During the interview the owner paused, and asked me a deceptively simple question that made me pause and think.
- He said! “Are you pragmatic?”
I remember thinking, I know what that word means… I think I do, but maybe I don’t?
- I answered. “Yes, I am a pragmatist,”
Yet at the exact moment I said it out loud, in middle of that panel interview, I realized I was still trying to conclude for myself if that answer was true. Even now, nearly twenty years later, I still find myself circling back to those same thoughts or pragmatism. Being pragmatic may be one of the hardest traits to clearly define and fully understand, especially when I believe that I embody it.
Definitions That I Reflect On
Pragmatic(adjective)
1) Dealing with things sensibly and realistically, based on practical considerations rather than abstract theory or ideals. [bing.com]
2) Relating to the philosophical tradition of pragmatism, which evaluates ideas by their practical effects and usefulness. [bing.com]
Pragmatism (noun)
1) A practical approach to problems or policies, emphasizing what works in real situations over rigid adherence to principles or ideology. [bing.com]
2) A philosophical movement, developed mainly in the United States, which holds that the meaning and truth of ideas are determined by their practical consequences. [bing.com]
So, I Still Ask Myself
- Am I pragmatic?
- Am I truly a pragmatist?
Over time, I’ve learned that the answer doesn’t come from strict definitions as much as it comes from my behavior and attitude over time. When faced with a time-constrained issue, I don’t wait for perfection in a solution, I typically take the imperfect path that actually works. Not because I don’t value excellence or perfection, but because progress matters more than idealism when reality is pressing in. A working solution today often beats a flawless one that may never arrive.
I’ve also learned that pragmatism requires a certain level of humility on my part. If valid, verified evidence shows me I’m incorrect, I’m more than willing, and sometimes painfully so, to change my mind. Clinging on to an opinion simply because it’s mine has never moved anything resolution forward. Truth and results matter more than ego and optics.
I work with reality as it is, not as I wish it were. Constraints are not obstacles; they’re conditions that everyone, including myself, need to work within. Flexibility, to me, doesn’t mean chaos, it means adaptability and understanding of the limits of a situation. Then I still work to find a way to move within them.
When it comes to people, ideas, or decisions, I measure them the same way I work to measure myself which is by results… I work daily to not measure intentions, effort, or clever explanations because the result is truly what can and should be measured. Outcomes tell the truth ultimately, even when the process is messy with intention.
Asking Again
So, am I pragmatic?
Well, am I a pragmatist?
I still don’t have a perfect definition for me, myself, and I. But if pragmatism is choosing the following
- effectiveness over elegance,
- reality over illusion,
- evidence over opinion,
- and results over rhetoric.
Then the answers are yes! I think I finally believe my own answer from almost 20 years ago.
At the end of the day, the question I return to most often is simple: What is most effective right now? Not what’s theoretically or hypothetically best or what looks good on paper, but what aligns with a rigid philosophy.
Let’s just go with what works, here and now.