Message of the Day - From Different Perspectives We See Differently

Good Morning,

I remember living in Gaithersburg, Maryland (a suburb of Washington, DC) and driving west on the Capital beltway (I 495 toward I 270) on my way back from Baltimore. On that winding road I would see the Mormon Temple in the distance. It appeared to be a huge building with beautiful spires all in a pristine white.

When you first see the large building you think nothing of it because you are in Washington DC and there are many large buildings and monuments. Then driving around the next bend and the Temple goes out of view for a moment. Then another bend and there it is again, but only SMALLER (and yes, you are driving towards the Temple). Then as you continue to drive along the highway, you get closer to the building, and it continues to DECREASE in size. This is a favorite optical illusion I would share with friends and visitors as we drove along the beltway.

In reality, the building did not change size, only our perspective of the building changed, and thus how it appeared to us. That is, from different perspectives or vantage points what we are seeing is different.

It stands to reason that two different people looking at the same thing from two different places could easily see that same thing differently. Unless they describe what they are seeing to each other and confirm with each other it is possible they may think that they are seeing two entirely different things.

Another way to look at this is that if you change the way you look at a problem you can see the problem in a completely different way. For example, when a complaint letter comes into your company, you can see it as a problem to be fixed and an employee to coach or you may also see it as a new opportunity to wow a customer by how the complaint is addressed.

This is a great tool to better generate understanding between people as well as a tool to help solve problems.

In the first case, when you know you and others are looking at the same issue but are actually seeing different issues, it is time to ask some questions and see about changing the perspectives being used.

In the second case, when you have a challenge and do not know how to overcome it, you can change the way you look at it. Question convention and you can open the door to new ways of solving issues.

Knowing that all things in life can be seen differently not only by different people, but even seen differently by the same person looking at issue from different perspectives helps us see life's challenges through different lenses.

Maybe we can find more solutions to our problems with this approach. And if not, change our perspective.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://learnandgrowdaily.com ←-Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
502-533-9336

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