Perception Matters

I've been re-reading Robert Quinn's "Deep Change". In one chapter he tells a story about a guy who had shot up the ranks in his company. Always got high marks. He was a real "doer". But after one such promotion his career came to a screaming halt. It was the move to upper management. He couldn't figure out what to do.

Finally a critical incident occurred.... On several occasions, the engineer's boss commented that he was very impressed with one of the engineer's subordinates. His boss indicated that no matter how early he himself arrived at work, this man's car was always in the parking lot. The engineer went to visit the subordinate who had been singled out. After some questioning, the man explained, "I have four teenagers who wake up at awn for paper routes, athletic practice, and other activities. The mornings at my house are chaotic, so I come in early. I read for a while, write in my journal, read the paper, have some coffee, and then start work at eight."

It would be easy to take this as a lesson about how upper management was clueless about their own employees. And how easy it is to fool people. The engineer in question took a different lesson.

"I learned that there were other realities besides the technical reality. I discovered perception and long time lines. At higher levels, what matters is how people see the world, and everyone sees it a little differently."

The insight that there are other realities besides the technical reality is a key. There are a million applications. One that comes to mind is that being "right" doesn't always matter if you cannot communicate it in such a way as to get others on board. You can be "right" and still be wrong. It's not too much unlike the principle Jesus taught over and over again that the spirit of the law matters as much as the letter of the law.

How would you apply this in your life?