A customer asks for an exception the policy does not foresee. A loyal team member who is struggling misses their targets. Two deadlines collide. No procedure says what to do “in this exact case”. More than 2,300 years ago Aristotle had a name for the ability needed in moments like these: phronesis, practical wisdom.
What phronesis is
In the Nicomachean Ethics (Book VI) Aristotle distinguishes theoretical knowledge from the ability to act well in concrete situations. The phronimos, the practically wise person, can see what matters in a particular case and choose the right course. They don’t apply a formula: they know when a rule should be followed to the letter and when it should be read in the light of its purpose. For Aristotle virtue lies in the “mean” (Book II), which is not a mathematical average but varies with the situation: the same frankness can be courage with an angry customer and cruelty toward a grieving colleague.
What research says
Psychologists Barry Schwartz and Kenneth Sharpe (2006, Journal of Happiness Studies) revived Aristotle to argue that practical wisdom combines two ingredients: moral will, the desire to do the right thing, and moral skill, the ability to work out how to do it in practice. In their view, an excess of rigid rules and incentives can weaken exactly this capacity, because it invites people to comply instead of to judge. It should be said that this is a theoretical argument backed by examples, not an experiment. Closer to organisations, Intezari and Pauleen (2018, Decision Sciences) propose, using a grounded-theory approach, a model of how managers make “wise” decisions, bringing practical wisdom into management research.
A small method for hard decisions
- Look at the concrete case. What are the facts? Who is involved? What makes this different from a “standard” situation?
- Remember the purpose. What is the rule, or your role, really for? For someone settling insurance claims, for instance, the purpose is a fair and timely payout, not just a closed file.
- Listen to those affected before deciding, not afterwards.
- Choose, explain and review. State your reasons and revisit the outcome: wisdom is trained through reflected experience.
Careful: this is not an invitation to ignore rules
In regulated sectors such as insurance, laws and procedures protect customers and workers and must be followed. Phronesis works inside that perimeter: it is needed where a rule leaves room for judgement, or where two rules pull against each other.
From Monday morning
When you face a decision that is “not in the manual”, write three lines: the facts, the purpose, the people affected. Then decide. A week later, reread: what would you do differently?
And you: when has “following the rules” not been enough in your work?
Sources
- Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Books II and VI.
- Schwartz, B., & Sharpe, K. E. (2006). Practical wisdom: Aristotle meets positive psychology. Journal of Happiness Studies, 7(3), 377–395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-005-3651-y
- Intezari, A., & Pauleen, D. J. (2018). Conceptualizing wise management decision-making: A grounded theory approach. Decision Sciences, 49(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/deci.12267
- Schwartz, B., & Sharpe, K. (2010). Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing. Riverhead Books.
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