Even my best clients have been known to forget some of the most critical distinctions, so I thought some reminders were in order.

1. The Vision vs. The Transition – Do not sacrifice your goal or your ambition because the journey looks frightful or becomes onerous. Transitions are often intimidating and down-right painful, but the path of least resistance rarely produces great results.
2. Objectives vs. Alternatives – Do not debate the alternatives without agreeing on the objectives.That’s like debating the route without agreeing on the destination. Always start with “What are we trying to accomplish?”
3. Traits vs. Behavior – Do not confuse someone’s personal traits with their behavior. Traits are invisible and there is little value in talking or thinking about them because those thoughts are nothing more than assumptions, judgments, and generalizations, which, in most cases, guarantees those thoughts will be both inaccurate and irritating. Behavior, on the other hand, is visible, specific, and factual.
4. Plans vs. Goals – Do not let your plan become more important than your goals. The plan is just your current guess as to the shortest path to a goal. It isn’t sacred. It will never be perfect. It must be adjusted as you learn.
5. Fair vs. Equal – Do not try to treat people exactly the same. They aren’t exactly the same and they don’t need, nor want, the same things. Treat them fairly by applying rules consistently and providing appropriate support and opportunity in each case.
6. Seriousness vs. Likelihood – Do not conflate seriousness and likelihood. When considering risks and potential problems, this distinction is critical and makes it easier to develop plans to prevent and mitigate risk.
7. Consensus vs. Commitment – Do not confuse consensus with commitment. The former is often a least-common-denominator approach that ruffles no feathers. The latter makes people walk through walls in pursuit of success, often after some serious feather ruffling in the course of making a decision.

What are some of your favorite distinctions that help you be more effective on the job?