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Opposites split likeable gallery
Call me old
fashioned, but I still use a fountain
pen when I write. In fact, I’m so old
fashioned that I still fill my pen from
a bottle of ink.
Maybe it’s the
ritual that matters.
Preparing my pen gives my brain
time to order my thoughts so that when
words flow onto paper they already make
some sense.
Do you know what
qualities make good pen ink?
The ability to flow freely and
to dry quickly.
Opposites make the ink work.
Not either or, but both together.
The same applies to my writing.
To produce something of meaning,
my thoughts must first flow freely.
If my thoughts set too quickly,
my output will be blotchy – too bold in
some areas and too feeble in others.
I wonder, could
this concept apply to people?
Could it be that sometimes we
need to deploy opposing qualities to be
really effective?
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Splitting definite into maybe
Talking about
opposites, what is Baby’s first word?
Take a guess.
And the winner is the word ‘no’.
Well, maybe number one is ‘mama’,
but apparently ‘no’ is near the top of
first words.
The word ‘yes’ comes a bit later.
Learning to use
the words ‘no’ and ‘yes’ is a
developmental phase that psychologists
call ‘splitting’.
It entails
the splitting of mental concepts into
either-or, black-and-white thinking – no
versus yes, good versus bad, and so on.
Here’s the interesting bit.
The word ‘maybe’ and what it
represents only enters our understanding
at around the age of five.
Until then, we don’t think in
terms of grays, of in-betweens.
It takes five years for our
thinking to mature enough to allow for
uncertainties and possibilities.
I know a few
adults who could do with maturing about
five years so that they can admit to
maybe now and then.
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A likeable recommendation
‘Maybe’ I like you.
But I’m not sure that I can
recommend you.
This is the key issue that
people so enamored with networking
events either ignore or don’t
understand.
Don’t get me wrong.
I have met many people that I
like at networking events.
That is not the issue.
However, few of these
likeable people have graduated in my
understanding of them and of what
they do to a level where I feel
confident in recommending them and
their service or product.
That is the issue.
Liking you depends on personality;
yours and mine.
Many organizations take
personality into account when they
recruit.
Some even run personality
tests.
Personality does matter.
On the other hand, recommending you
depends on my understanding of your
level of competence and ability to
make a meaningful contribution.
No sane hiring manager will
ignore meaningful competence in
favor of simple liking.
So why should I?
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Gallery boost for your business
I know what I
like, but does art matter?
Until this month, this question
did not bother me.
However, work I’m doing for a
client has changed my thinking so much
that I now say this: Skip your next team
building time-waster and take your team
to an art gallery.
Here’s why.
Perception is reality, but there is no
reality without interpretation.
We constantly reconstruct and
interpret reality.
This is why two people can
consider the same event, ‘see’ different
things, experience unique feelings and
draw dissimilar conclusions.
By paying attention to perceptions and
different conclusions you can boost your
business.
Because
seeing differently creates insight.
Insight can reveal opportunities
and uncover threats.
Trying to make
sense of visual art is a good way of
exploring perceptions and practicing to
see differently.
So visit a gallery to boost your
business.
And remember, you are supposed to
think, ‘What was she smoking?’
∞
Split between irritation and liking my
nonsense?
Click here to vote 'maybe'
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divide
Attraversiamo
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