This week someone sent me an email that contained a number of familiar company logos and with each one asked a question like …
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| Do you see the arrow between the “E” and “x” (in white)? | Do you see the “31″ embedded in the “BR”? Thirty-one-derful flavors! |
So I readily admit that I didn’t. In fact I failed the test completely with ALL of the logos. It’s interesting and it immediately led me to wonder how the ways in which we choose to see things can impact our success? How willing are we to consider another view that might lead to a different action or reaction?
When working with clients in the workplace … both individually and as a team … I very often encounter situations and people who are solidly entrenched in one way and only one way to view a situation or a person. How they move forward or relate to it is shaped by the way that they see and interpret whatever the situation may be. This is not saying that the perspective they have is wrong. However, there is a good possibility that the view held has the ability to limit the we see it and the actions we take … right or wrong.
Here are some situations that are all too common to which you, as I, can relate.
- Scenario 1. Walking into the office in the morning you greet another co-worker with an energetic ‘good morning’. What you get in return is a grunt,
unintelligible mumbled words or nothing. How do you see this? 1) You walk away shaking your head just knowing that this person is a loser, downer or just rude. 2) You wonder what you could have done or said to get such a response. 3) You imagine that they are having a bad morning and think nothing more about it.
- Whatever way you interpret this is going to impact the way your move forward as related to this person. And whether you are right or wrong, other interactions you have with them are going to be colored by your experience and interpretation of it.
- Scenario 2. You’re in a meeting with your department or team and one person wants to dominate the discussion and influence the decisions to be made
by taking control in an irritating way. How can you see this? 1) You always see this person acting as they often do … in a controlling way and just stop listening which also stops your participation. 2) You are so turned off by the delivery that you turn off the entire message because you resent the person and their approach. 3) Although you find the delivery to be lacking, you are able to hear the message, and thus, can remain involved in the decision making process.
- The way in which you react will bring one of two results. One is going to be self-serving as it reinforces your own feelings toward the individual. Another is going to be company-serving as you are still able to move forward in accomplishing the task at hand. How you ultimately choose to respond is going to potentially influence outcomes and, personally, your sense of job accomplishment and success.
- Scenario 3. In a group meeting, management has gathered everyone together to allow him or her to announce a new initiative, change or goal. The message is delivered very nicely with kind words however, also very unclearly. The few questions that are asked reflect the lack of clarity and the amount
of confusion within the group. How do you see this? 1) You tune out because this lack of clarity is typical when the boss talks. 2) You listen convinced that here comes another idea or plan that will never happen and see it as a waste of time. 3) You volunteer to the group that you are confused as to the message and ask for clarification in specific terms and get it … for just asking.So are you a team player … or not?
- Losing focus as to the purpose of the meeting and allowing ourselves to react to an individual and use that as justification for becoming less than a fully committed player can ultimately backfire on us individually and certainly on the company. This seems clearly worth consideration prior to going with ones’ initial reaction.
When we dig into a perspective that is based upon our initial gut reactions and assumptions, we may be absolutely right. However, there is also the likelihood 
that allowing ourselves to do that without a willingness to take a moment to consider other perspectives, we risk moving forward in ways that are detrimental to our job responsibilities and jeopardize both relationship and personal success. We can then find ourselves up the wrong creek and that has no redeeming value. Try it at the next opportunity. You may just like it and find it serves you well.
Would like to see the other logos deserving a second look? Just send me an email indicating ‘logos’
Mike Dorman
mike@thethirdzone.com
