What Works?
A brief reflection on effectiveness
The topic of effectiveness is central to this project called What Works. "What works," after all, is another way to say "what's effective."
I've always been quite fond of the fact that what works can be read as both a statement and a question: this is what works and what works? It's ambiguous in a way that adds to the meaning of what I'm up to.
Another way to understand this ambiguity is by asking some additional questions:
What works for whom?
What works to what end?
What works in this context?
But even then, I'm not sure that we get the fundamental contingency of the phrase—and that contingency can teach us a lot.
Lately, I've been musing on the word effective.
We use it so casually. Is that workout effective? Will this marketing tactic be effective? What's effective for puppy training?
But there is a value judgment embedded in the word effective. The value judgment hinges on the effect in question. The intended effect determines whether a course of action is effective. Yet the effect is often assumed rather than explicitly stated or considered.
Workouts that are effective for building endurance may not be effective for building strength. Tactics that are effective at building an audience may not be effective for finding clients. Puppy training strategies that are effective for socialization may not be effective for housebreaking.
Effectiveness is always contingent on the desired effect.
The effects we're least likely to examine closely are often those that perpetuate the status quo or serve interests other than our own.
When a woman who's been socialized within diet culture asks another woman who's been socialized within diet culture if a workout is effective, there's a good chance she's asking if it leads to weight loss. Weight loss is the effect assumed to be desirable and, therefore, the value on which effectiveness is judged. The reply to the question may not even acknowledge that assumption. "Yep, it worked for me!" comes the reply.
When one social media creator asks another whether the tactic they're using is effective, there's a good chance they're asking if the tactic leads to more likes or followers. Likes and followers are the effects assumed to be desirable and, therefore, the value on which effectiveness is judged. However, neither social media creator is likely to receive a direct benefit from likes or followers. They're unlikely to make money based on those metrics, nor do those metrics correlate to a measure of influence. Likes and followers are the desirable effects of social media platforms. They're data points that they use to make their product more addicting and their advertising more valuable.
When we let others define the desirable effects we judge our actions by, we become tools of their agenda rather than agents of our own goals. Further, when we don't even realize we've let some other authority choose our desirable effects, we get caught in a frustrating cycle. Effective action may lead to more frustration rather than alleviating it.
To break the cycle, we must make a habit of questioning the effects we unconsciously value. We must define and redefine effectiveness to ensure that what works is what we actually want.