All tagged Perception is everything
Labels are an everyday part of our language - to such an extent that we use them, often, without serious thought.
As I discuss in today's episode, because the labels we grow up with are often fraught with misperceptions and frankly, prejudice, such that we'd do well to rethink them.
Sports allegiances are, for the most part, irrational.
When we root for a team, we do so for reasons that typically have no objective basis. And on that emotional basis, we become “supporters” - and, for those of us who take our support seriously, proceed to entrench ourselves in the traditions of the team.
Today's podcast talks about our ideas of perfection, specifically in people.
I relate a war story from my consulting days about how reputations of specific individuals can be both accurate and inaccurate at the same time. The quicker we learn that, the easier it becomes to forge solid working relationships.
Many times, there’s a real value to contrarian thinking.
In investment terms, the best time to buy is when the market is down and everyone is running for the doors. Or, in personnel terms, placing a bet on the young up-and-comer who’s been committed and loyal to the cause, when conventional wisdom says to go out and hire an established name.
But there are times when the contrarian approach doesn’t make sense, and despite our desire to do what we feel is right, we need to accept that we might actually be wrong.
One of my favorite quotes is “Own your outcomes”, and speaks to the need for us to take ownership for whatever happens to us.
It doesn’t mean we can control whatever happens to us, because many times we can’t. Things happen, whether we like it or not.
But what we can do is take ownership for our situations, stop complaining or commiserating, and control how we respond. In other words, run the problem and don't let the problem run you.
Perceptions are everything.
If someone believes something to be true, it almost doesn’t matter what the data says. The most reasoned arguments and the most robust set of facts will pale in comparison to their beliefs, values and worldview.
And as a marketer or salesperson reaching out to current and potential customers, it certainly doesn’t matter what you think. It only matters what they think, how they perceive the facts.
There’s a bit of a con in any risk we take on, be it creating a new business, starting a major assignment that hasn’t been done before or embarking on a journey that has never been attempted.
The con is perceived, and it is that we can make it (whatever it is). That we can get ourselves across the line and do what it is that we’ve set out to do.
