By Caroline M. Cole

Recognizing that business is about relationships and that communication is the foundation of those relationships, Ethos Professional Communication in general, and this blog in particular, encourage discussions on communication-oriented topics to help all participants learn, practice, and strengthen their abilities to present ideas, products, services, and even themselves in the most effective manner. And they do so by drawing upon and promoting the concept of areté.

Areté is a value in ancient Greek culture that has often been translated as excellence and virtue, but these translations flatten the concept of areté. From the root word aristos, which represents superiority, areté is more accurately considered the ability to use all faculties including, but not limited to intelligence, strength, justice, wisdom, courage, humility, compassion, magnanimity, self-control, and common sense to live up to one’s fullest and highest potential.

Perfection may come to mind, yet areté is not the same as perfection. Individuals achieve areté by continually working toward and aspiring to live up to their highest potential in the face of adversity, yet to believe perfection has been achieved is a sign of arrogance and pride—characteristics that undermine areté by making it impossible to recognize areas for further improvement. Representing the ongoing pursuit of excellence even when absolute excellence is impossible, areté is often measured in terms of effectiveness in a given context.

Although excellence and fulfillment of purpose are often viewed in the context of human capabilities, the concept of areté can be applied to anything. For example, we can talk about the areté of a stallion, the areté of an internet connection, the areté of a knife, the areté of a conversation. Yet because each of these elements fulfills its purpose and demonstrates excellence in a unique way, the definition of areté changes according to what is being described. Such fluidity has prompted many people—including Aristotle—to disagree about what, exactly, constitutes areté or ways it could be achieved, but it is the ongoing pursuit of excellence and living up to one’s highest potential that is of most relevance to this blog.

This forum recognizes that communication is seldom about definitive tactics and absolutes. The strategies that work in one forum, for one person, in one exchange may not work in identical ways for someone else for any number of reasons. The areté of memo, grant proposal, presentation, hand shake, form of address, comment, voicemail, exchange, and so forth may demonstrate excellence in different ways depending on the context, the participants, and goal. Consequently, this blog is less about promoting any particular trick or communication tip and more about finding and developing a framework that can help us connect with others in more authentic, meaningful ways. And because such work is best achieved in conjunction with others who are also interested in communication that works for all participants, we invite you to join us in the ongoing pursuit of achieving the areté of communication.