R.O.I. - Result or Intent?

However, the intent around the investment did not necessarily pre-suppose a return. Letting go of expectations of finite cause and effect is liberating, it releases one to embrace what is. Investment has translated into a gift to me and deep satisfaction in the work I do - these are the returns.

My clients often ask what the quick wins are, the skeleton key that unlocks all, the low hanging fruits or the rewards for their efforts. When we think of investing whether it is money or time, we often have our eye on the rewards and returns as confirmation that we are on the right track.

My response is sometimes around the distinction between intent and result. Intent doesn't require a specific outcome to confirm we are right. If the intent is clear minded, the outcomes tend to take care of themselves. This of course requires that to some degree one believes in laws of nature and a freer sense of cause and effect. After a heavy rain the seeds of many a fallow season may once again flourish.

The distinction between intent and result has been useful in the formation of the Eastern Cape Chapter of COMENSA. As a toddler chapter we are still very much finding our way, and sometimes the returns don't always seem to match the investment. However, recently we had our first supervision meeting which confirmed for me the value of investing hours of time spent communicating and organising, without the requirement of a return. A belief in the value of building community is the investment and the emergence of a group with its own unique character becomes the return.

So what happens when we invest unconditionally? The returns are surprises, mostly pleasant but if not, we learn about ourselves through adversity.

Intent requires commitment and in the words of Murray in his the Scottish Himalayan Expedition: "Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans.

The moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now."

If we decide before we invest, what the returns should be we might find ourselves hesitant, drawing back and ineffective. We may tell ourselves it has to have a certain outcome or I won't do it. Relationships are a useful space in which to explore the notion of commitment, intent and investment - if I choose how I wish to be in a relationship, very little should shake me from that intention. This has little bearing on how the other may behave, because we intersect with their journey and don't become its trajectory.

This is particularly relevant in coaching. We invest our best intention into our relationship with our clients. We bring all that we are into the relationship and we partner with our clients to facilitate the shifts they seek. If we believe that this commitment will bring providence to bear, we may find it easier to deal with the possibility that they may remain several steps away from achieving the change and shifts they seek. This may be because in their journey there are further lessons, further frustrations and further breakdowns before the change they seek becomes a sustained part of their lives.

Irrespective of outcomes, I ask myself was I clear in my intent, did I commit to my client, did I invest fully and in so doing, I accept that the returns will be gifts and teachers.

About the author:
Lorna Schofield is vice-chairperson of the Eastern Cape chapter of COMENSA. She is an integral coach living in East London.