1. Defining success: Arianna
Huffington’s ‘third metric’
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Does ‘success’ have a single definition around which we can all agree?
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Above the most basic level (see for example Maslow’s Hierarchy), wants, needs and values vary
from person to person, shaped by cultural pressures and expectations. Furthermore, these can vary
over time within any individual. All of which can make it difficult to presume a single, universal
definition of ‘success’ in anything other than the most abstract terms.
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It is precisely this point that underlies the thought-provoking idea put forward by Arianna
Huffington in an address to an audience of Smith College graduates, an independent, women’s
liberal arts institution in Massachusetts. Speaking of the need to move away from defining success
purely in terms of money and power, Huffington introduced what she called the ‘third metric’ and
which she defined as “well-being, wisdom, an ability to wonder, and to give back”.
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Huffington explains each of the four elements. But fundamentally, the ‘third metric’ is dependent
on a conscious decision to relax and take the time to become aware of ourselves – of who we really
are. Only by doing so can we honestly define what ‘success’ looks like for each of us as individuals.
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And only with that level of self-awareness can we hope to become genuinely aware of others and
of every aspect of our environment. This also happens to be the starting point (should our
definition of success lead us in that direction) of any journey towards truly conscious leadership.

2. Neela Bettridge
07771 726 971
neela@neelabettridge.com