Here’s how it turned out:
Very
interesting, right? The obvious lesson is not to judge a book by its cover. But,
let’s take it a little further. Let’s be more conscious of how information from
others affects our perceptions. Think about how you act when someone else tells
you their own perceptions of a colleague or customer.
I was
reminded of this a few weeks ago when a friend’s fifth-grade daughter prepared
to return to grade school after the Christmas break. Her teacher went on
maternity leave, so she had a new teacher coming in at the break. The teacher
was new to the class but had worked there for a few years. The little girl asked
around to find out how other kids liked the teacher. Of course, some did not
like the teacher.
The
little girl became very upset and was not looking forward to returning to school
after the break. It took my friend quite some time to calm her daughter so she
could think clearly. Her mom warmly suggested she give the teacher a chance and
make decisions based on her experiences. Mom’s magic motivation did the trick,
and it worked out fine.
Once in
a while we all might need to take a step back, give people a chance, and decide
whether they are valuable teammates, wise advisers, or good friends based on our
own experiences. We might even need to do that more than once with the same
person. Holding on to mistakes clouds judgment sometimes.
We might
need to do the same when someone else opines on an innovative idea. We see it
all the time, don't we? When a new idea is brought up, the first words often
uttered to do with why it won't work or how we tried that ten years ago.
Let's be better about seeing things in a new way, rather than how everyone else
sees it.
The sad
part about this whole experiment is that we miss out on the greatness of other
people or ideas because of how we perceive them. The good news is that we can
control that ourselves and not miss out any more.
