The One Thing Standing Between You and Success

Perspective!

Each of us has at one time or another heard or read the story about the blind men and the Elephant. Just in case you have not allow me to get you up to speed…..as the story goes six blind men were asked to determine what an elephant looks like by feeling different parts of the elephant’s body. Based on the body part they touched, each man came up with a different descriptor for the elephant: the one who felt the leg said the elephant was like a pillar, the one who felt the tail said the elephant was like was like a rope, the one who felt the trunk said the elephant is like a tree branch, the one who felt the ear said the elephant is like a hand fan, the one who felt the belly said the elephant was like a wall and the one who felt the tusk said that the elephant is like a solid pipe.  At the end, each of them is told that they are right because each of them described the elephant from their perspective based on the body part they were touching.

Bringing this back to the workplace: a short while ago our team had a meeting with our head of department (HOD) to determine the priority that was to be given to the different pieces of work that had been forwarded from other parts of the organization for our team to work on. The list was about 15 items long and for each item, we were asked to explain what exactly the request entailed, the pros and cons and the reasons we thought it should be given a higher priority than the other.

We had not gone very far down the list before I noticed something interesting…..on some of the items, the HOD would pause for thought and then tell us how that particular item was related to another proposal or initiative that was in the works in a different part of the organization and so it would most likely be covered under the other proposal or initiative. In some instances he pointed out upcoming changes that would cater for the reasons we had presented in favor of a particular item and on and on the discussion went. At the end of the meeting what had appeared to be an extremely long list of must-do items had been reduced to roughly 4 items that were “must-do” with the other items realigned with an on-going project or initiative.

I left that meeting not only more knowledgeable but very thoughtful…..

Whilst there are many reasons why my boss may be in a better position to make more strategic decisions than me, in some ways what makes the difference between my success and that of my bosses’ is really a matter of perspective – the more knowledge, information and understanding one has, the greater the chance of them making a better (read informed and well-thought out) decision. I went into the meeting thinking we had a lot of work cut out for us because all the items seemed to be important but in discussing the list with our boss who knew more about what was going on in different parts of the organization, the number of important items was significantly reduced to a more manageable number and so greater focus could be lent to doing wonders with a smaller piece of work.

It goes without saying that our HOD did not become a guru overnight but had to go through several informational and transformational phases to get there. So do you want to be more successful at work or in your life, do you want to make better decisions? Why not take the time to bridge the gap by:

Acquiring knowledge

Time and again we have heard it said that information is Power but simply having information is not enough. We need to take a step further and apply the information we have so that it translates to something actionable and useful; we need to acquire knowledge which can be defined in many ways but is in essence an understanding of a subject gained through experience or education. This is great news for many of us because it is achievable which in turn means that gaining perspective is something we can do.

Challenge: Today the ball lies squarely in your court, what are you going to do to acquire knowledge and gain a better understanding on? What are you going to do today to gain the right perspective?

Be Aware

Let’s do a quick check: what is the registration number of your neighbor's vehicle? I can bet that unless you and your neighbor car-pool often you probably have no clue – you may know the make and the color but the finer details in this case are lost on you. Contrast this with the fact that you know your own vehicle registration number like the back of your hand (or at least I hope you do). Why the difference? The difference is one of relevance and hence awareness.

It is relevant to you to know your own vehicle registration number whereas knowing your neighbors' may not necessarily be relevant to you and as a result you are not aware despite interacting with them or their vehicle on a daily basis. There are many things that happen around us on a daily basis – both at work and in our lives in general but we may not be aware of all the changes. However, the minute we acquire new knowledge and information and thus become aware of a certain subject matter it’s like a light switch goes off in our heads and we suddenly start to notice those things all around you.

Sort of like what happened the day you decided to buy a car say a Subaru and suddenly you begun to notice all the Subaru’s on the road….did Subaru suddenly become the car of the day? NO. Is it that all the Subaru’s were having a day out? NO……It’s just that suddenly Subaru became relevant to you and you became more aware of all the Subaru’s which had been there all along.

Challenge: What do you need to become more aware of so that you can become a better person or do a better job? What are you going to make relevant to you today?

Cultivate Patience

A lot has been said about the ‘Millenials’ as a generation and how they want it all.....NOW....while that may be true in general, I am against generalizations because they tend to lump us all in one basket and forget that we are individuals who are a sum total of all our experiences, upbringing, educational background and a host of other variables. But, more on that another day or you can read an earlier article on how to get the best out of a multi-generational work environment 3 tips for success in a multi-generational workplace.

No matter when you were born or what stage you are in your career, one thing remains clear and constant – you must cultivate and exercise patience. It does not come naturally to most of us (me included and guess that is why it is called a virtue) but it can be learnt. Patience, I have learnt, can be self-cultivated or circumstance cultivated. In Swahili, there is a saying that goes "asiyefunzwa na mamaye hufunzwa na ulimwengu” loosely translated it means “"he who is not taught by his mother will be taught by the world”.

Every single day and moment of our lives presents us with an opportunity to learn or unlearn something. Patience is one of those things we should seek to learn on our own (we control the pace at which we learn) but many of us opt to learn the hard way (the world way, the shocker way, the way that gives us only one option – to survive).  Going back to my story, I know for a fact that our Head of Department did not know all that he does through Osmosis and overnight. He had to go through some situations, put himself in some situations and a combination of both to acquire the knowledge that he has and that allows him to succeed at his job.

Challenge: Will you take the time today to cultivate the patience it takes to walk the path to your success? To painstakingly go through the process and do the things that will eventually put you in the limelight – a showcase of success?

Do new and different things

A person who does the same thing the same way each day expecting different results has been called a ‘fool’. This may sound harsh but there is some truth to it. We are by nature creatures of habit – we tend to eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch or supper, we use the same route to work each morning and drive the same way back each evening. We follow the same routine each morning when we wake up, go out the door, into the office and in the course of our day. Don’t get me wrong – I have in many ways just described myself – routine is good but every once in a while (or if your bold and daring) you need to do something new and different.

As I type out this post I have just come from watching a popular TV series that had me thinking ‘I want to be like those guys’ and the person I was watching it with commented that there is nothing super special about that team – they just think differently.

Wow! What a thought? What a challenge? Doing something new and different not only allows you to get out of your comfort zone to challenge yourself but also allows you to think differently from your every day process-it changes and shapes your perspective.  It is the difference between my perspective and that of my boss; it is the difference between my level of success and that of my boss. Two people looking at something will see two totally different things, don’t believe me? Let’s do a small exercise: Look at the sentence below and tell me what message immediately comes to mind  

“OPPORTUNITYISNOWHERE”

What did message did you get? Some of you may have read "Opportunity is now here” whereas others would have read “Opportunity is nowhere” Difference: Perspective.

Enough said!

Challenge: What are new and different thing are you going to do today? How are you going to actively seek to change your perspective?

Going back to the example at the beginning one thing is clear: YOU have to take responsibility for your PERSPECTIVE. Question is: are you bold and daring enough to change it?