Sigma Significance

"Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it." -Mohandas K. Gandhi

In the world of statistics, a result is referred to as "statistically significant" if it is unlikely to have occurred by chance. So the amount of proof that is needed to accept that an event has happened due to chance is known as the significance level.

In some fields this statistical significance is measured in units of "σ" (sigma). It is meant to show how much variation there is from the average or expected value.

Wow, I actually remembered something from statistics class in college AND managed to bore you at the same time.

My purpose here is not to teach statistics nor is it to bore you. My purpose is to let you know that the significance of one may seem insignificant on the surface. But what you do in life matters to so many others in unexpected ways.

There are variations on this idea and many times put into movies. Think of "Its A Wonderful Life" or the book "The Butterfly Effect"; your life matters in ways you may never fully realize, but it does.

What this means to me is that in statistics the value of one is generally considered insignificanct. But in our every day lives, significance of anything has to start with one, then two, three, four, ...

It means that you matter, you are significant. Everything you do puts other things in motion that cause very significant things. A pebble in the water creates ever increasing rings or waves. These spread out from the center growing ever larger. Eventually these waves wash ashore a sea shell found by a child, brightening and changing that child's life forever.

Yes, you matter even though it may seem insignificant. Remember what Gandhi said, "Whatever you do will be insignificant...", but everything you do will be important.

One Degree

"It takes only one person with one match to light one candle to fill an entire room with hope." -Joseph Primm

There is a principle called "212" or sometimes "211 to 212". It is a pretty simple concept to grasp and has to do with the boiling point of water. As we all have learned, water reaches a boiling point at 212 degrees Farenheit. It is the point at which water begins to change form.

One degree less and the water is just very hot. Nothing more then that and not at the point at which water is transformed. Water begins to change from a liquid to a vapor. The boiling point creates the ability to sterilize and ward off bacteria. It is a point where everything can change.

But stop short at 211 degrees Farenheit and nothing happens. One degree, one more step, one more person. The principle of 212 means to go that one extra step, to go where change will happen in your life. But I think its significance is in the one degree.

That one degree is you. You can make the difference between nothing and something. You can make the difference that changes everything. You can be that one degree.

You

The significance of you and your ability to make a difference. Coming soon!

Until then, read Leading Change again and know that you are the type of person that can do it.

Leading Change

"Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself." -Henry Ward Beecher

You have most likely seen it happen many times. It may have been at work, at the market, or in school. It comes in many different forms, many different versions and many times in subtle ways.

One way to describe it is a lack of leadership in setting a good example. Or you might see it as demanding of others but not of yourself.

One example I could use is while driving on the road. Recently I was driving down the freeway, probably in too big of a hurry and maybe it had been a long day. One particular car had me "pinned in" the far right lane, driving just fast enough so that I could not move over due to a large truck.

Frustrating as it was, I soon looked closer and on the car was one of those bumper stickers which read, "How's my driving?. All I could think of at first was, "stupidly". Okay, I might have thought a few other words also.

As we kept moving along, it made me wonder how is "MY" driving? Was I demanding greater perfection from others then I would demand of myself? Were my own driving habits a bad example or having a negative cascading effect upon others? I eased off and ended up with a much more relaxing few more miles home.

It would be interesting if we had a bumper sticker on our back.

The question is, will you lead the change in your life to be better? Will you demand more of yourself before you demand it of others. How is your driving?