I got this following verbatim from John C. Maxwell's, The 24 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. In it, he tells a story from the movie, The Great Outdoors:
In the movie, John Candy plays Chet, a man vacationing with his family at a small lake community in the woods. He is unexpectedly visited by his sister-in-law and her husband, Roman. As the two men sit on the porch of their cabin over-looking the lake and miles of beautiful forest, they start to talk. And Roman, who see himself as a wheeler-dealer, shares his vision with Chet: "I'll tell you what I see when I look out there . . . I see the underdeveloped resources of northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. I see a syndicated development consortium exploiting over a billion and a half dollars in forest products. I see a paper mill and- if the strategy metals are there- a mining operation; a green belt between the condos on the lakes and a waste management facility. . . Now I ask you, what do you see?
"I, uh, I just see trees," answers Chet.
Chet saw trees because he was there to enjoy the scenery. Roman saw opportunity because he was a businessman whose desire was to make money. How you see the world around you is determined by who you are.
This reminds me of how Wendy and Jerome from ED once taught us of the importance of opening up our vision. Our teams were sent out to town to look at the advertisements (billboards, posters) from a new perspective.
It was an amazingly difficult experience because most of us have already been grounded and taught to look at the advertisements from the perspective of consumers.
I'll give you an example.
What's the different between two gas stations at opposite corners of a busy intersection? Station A with a big sign:
DISCOUNT FOR PAYING CASH!
Cash- $1.40 per Gallon
Credit- $1.50 per Gallon
and the other, Station B, imposes a surcharge for credit. It says:
Cash- $1.40 per Gallon
Credit- $1.50 per Gallon
If you were a typical consumer, you would most likely enter Station B assuming all conditions are equal. Why? Because people don't like surcharges. If you noticed though, you'll realize that the price structure is exactly the same.
The point here is that, if you look at the opportunities from the perspective of a businessmen, you would never ever have come up with an advertisement like the ones in Station B. When you go out shopping the next time, take a look at the advertisements around you. You'll realize how many mistakes even professional agencies make when they come up with their advertisements- I find it really embarrassing. I once saw an billboard advertisement, they were asking people to call them up now, while stocks last but did not provide any number for follow up. Imagine that!
Another thought that came to mind is how people around you can influence what you see and what not. I was telling my friends a while back that I hated hanging out with pessimistic people because they are like vacuum cleaners- they suck out all the energy from me. When I face a challenge, the only concern I have is on what I must do to overcome it. A pessimistic person on the other hand is only concerned on giving reasons why it can't be done.
Me: "Okay no prob. We can try giving them a call and ask for permission"
Pessimist: "I think it is very difficult because I don't think they will give us permission"
Me: . . .
The whole mindset is different here. I got the below picture from Randy Pausch's last lecture:
The optimist looks for solutions to get over the wall, the pessimist will look at the wall, and use it as a reason to turn back.
Some people tell me that it's good to have a pessimist in a team sometimes. I disagree. Being a pessimist and being prudent are two different matters altogether. You can be an optimist and at the same time still be prudent. It's really just a question of whether your glass is half empty of half full.
Maybe it's just me, but it sure is a lot more fun looking at the sunny side of things. =)
Anyway if you are looking for motivational talks you MUST see the Last Lecture of Randy Pausch. He was diagnosed with cancer but despite all odds, he shared his life's experience and values in this one hour lecture to empower the lives of others. He's one hellava amazing guy. *SALUTE* See below:
In the movie, John Candy plays Chet, a man vacationing with his family at a small lake community in the woods. He is unexpectedly visited by his sister-in-law and her husband, Roman. As the two men sit on the porch of their cabin over-looking the lake and miles of beautiful forest, they start to talk. And Roman, who see himself as a wheeler-dealer, shares his vision with Chet: "I'll tell you what I see when I look out there . . . I see the underdeveloped resources of northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. I see a syndicated development consortium exploiting over a billion and a half dollars in forest products. I see a paper mill and- if the strategy metals are there- a mining operation; a green belt between the condos on the lakes and a waste management facility. . . Now I ask you, what do you see?
"I, uh, I just see trees," answers Chet.
Chet saw trees because he was there to enjoy the scenery. Roman saw opportunity because he was a businessman whose desire was to make money. How you see the world around you is determined by who you are.
This reminds me of how Wendy and Jerome from ED once taught us of the importance of opening up our vision. Our teams were sent out to town to look at the advertisements (billboards, posters) from a new perspective.
It was an amazingly difficult experience because most of us have already been grounded and taught to look at the advertisements from the perspective of consumers.
I'll give you an example.
What's the different between two gas stations at opposite corners of a busy intersection? Station A with a big sign:
DISCOUNT FOR PAYING CASH!
Cash- $1.40 per Gallon
Credit- $1.50 per Gallon
and the other, Station B, imposes a surcharge for credit. It says:
Cash- $1.40 per Gallon
Credit- $1.50 per Gallon
If you were a typical consumer, you would most likely enter Station B assuming all conditions are equal. Why? Because people don't like surcharges. If you noticed though, you'll realize that the price structure is exactly the same.
The point here is that, if you look at the opportunities from the perspective of a businessmen, you would never ever have come up with an advertisement like the ones in Station B. When you go out shopping the next time, take a look at the advertisements around you. You'll realize how many mistakes even professional agencies make when they come up with their advertisements- I find it really embarrassing. I once saw an billboard advertisement, they were asking people to call them up now, while stocks last but did not provide any number for follow up. Imagine that!
Another thought that came to mind is how people around you can influence what you see and what not. I was telling my friends a while back that I hated hanging out with pessimistic people because they are like vacuum cleaners- they suck out all the energy from me. When I face a challenge, the only concern I have is on what I must do to overcome it. A pessimistic person on the other hand is only concerned on giving reasons why it can't be done.
Me: "Okay no prob. We can try giving them a call and ask for permission"
Pessimist: "I think it is very difficult because I don't think they will give us permission"
Me: . . .
The whole mindset is different here. I got the below picture from Randy Pausch's last lecture:
The optimist looks for solutions to get over the wall, the pessimist will look at the wall, and use it as a reason to turn back.
Some people tell me that it's good to have a pessimist in a team sometimes. I disagree. Being a pessimist and being prudent are two different matters altogether. You can be an optimist and at the same time still be prudent. It's really just a question of whether your glass is half empty of half full.
Maybe it's just me, but it sure is a lot more fun looking at the sunny side of things. =)
Anyway if you are looking for motivational talks you MUST see the Last Lecture of Randy Pausch. He was diagnosed with cancer but despite all odds, he shared his life's experience and values in this one hour lecture to empower the lives of others. He's one hellava amazing guy. *SALUTE* See below:
