What a difference perspective makes

I love quotes and I post them every day in all my social media spaces.

You will never run out of quotes or thoughts on perspective. Let me present a few:

Aldous Huxley says: “There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.”

The famous Beatle George Harrison says: “It’s all in the mind.”

Irving Berlin says: “Life is 10 percent what you make it and 90 percent how you take it.”

Martha Graham can be a little feisty as she says: “What people in the world think of you is really none of your business.”

Now look at how powerful perspective can be in influencing outcomes:

A lady who failed in the business said she failed because she had to take care of her kids. Another lady who succeeded said she did so because she had to take care of her kids!

A man became an alcoholic because he said his father was an alcoholic. Another man never drank a sip because he said his father was an alcoholic.

The pandemic showed companies carrying different perspectives and approaches in dealing with the difficult situation in businesses. Many businesses cut training, marketing, and hiring expenditures during an economic slowdown because they were told that a slowdown meant their sales would be low. Because they lowered these necessary expenditures, sales were lower anyway, and they were worse than before. While other businesses did their due research and increased spending manifold in crucial areas. They only cut back on spending that had zero impact on revenue. Using the same, they hired talented staff laid off from other companies trained them to increase their leadership, productivity, selling skills, and marketing. They had saved up cash for such a crisis.

Many business organizations are so enamored with the romance of what technology can do for their business when it comes to technology. They worry about their senior executives not catching up with technology and silently wish that automation, AI, and bots could replace them. Other forward and future-looking business organizations train their people extensively to prepare them for the digital environment. So, they center on the importance of developing their people so they would be equipped to handle technology and help increase and improve their performance and output.

And then there are the businesses that drastically cut their marketing budget to almost zero, reasoning that the pandemic is here and nothing promising is bound to happen in an economic downturn. Others retool and recalibrated their marketing tools and efforts, understanding that digital marketing is the key. Their sales were not hit as hard as everyone else because they took massive action and maintained consistent market visibility when others cut their losses. Eventually, when the economy began bouncing back, these businesses had the maximum market visibility, thus experiencing solid growth. What a difference perspective makes.

The one simple difference between success and failure is our reaction to the same situation compared to someone else. We have no control over what happens to us, but we usually have complete control over how we respond to the situation. It is the response that dictates a person or an organization’s destiny.

I cannot resist this but allow me to present you with one crucial perspective regarding leadership. Some 30 to 40 years ago, employee loyalty to their company is expected. Today employee loyalty has to be earned through effective leadership. And this one is not just a perspective but a reality.

(Francis Kong will run his Level Up Leadership 2.0 Master Class Online on April 20, 21 and 22. For inquiries and reservations, contact April at +63928-559-1798 or and for more information, visit www.levelupleadership.ph)