If you’ve heard people tell endless stories about a parent who left home … and yet rarely mention one who remained to raise them … you’ll get where this post is going.
The human brain is a bit of an odd ball when it comes to what we choose to see and emphasize. When people forget they are free to focus on what they have … or when they outright ignore what is … they also tend to pass over or d
evalue what they most desire.
Sadly, profits … well-being … and rich relationships waste away in the wings … as a result.
How would you respond to these five flawed focal points:
1. Do you fret about lagging profits yet fail to see valuable unused resources?
2. Does it distract you if somebody shuns you … so that you miss a supporter?
3. Would you work to stay young … and yet bypass the benefits of wisdom’s age?
4. In going after a disinterested client do you neglect those already there?
5. When you vent over problems in your organization do you miss solutions?
If you scored “yes” on more than 2 of the 5 you may well be writing your brain’s plasticity to concentrate on loss – while competitors make off with your profits.
Interestingly … when it comes to brainpower at work … what we focus on most will either stunt or start new growth. What's your current focus?
One of my mentors referred to this as "counting the 'no' votes." He thought that people tended to do that naturally and that it took effort to count the "yes" votes.
I picked up a technique for doing that from the work of Edward de Bono. He calls it "PMI" which stands for "Plus", "Minus" and "Interesting." The idea is to look for all three factors in a situation. I can tell you, from years of experience, that it's a very fine tool, indeed.
Posted by: Wally Bock | May 25, 2008 2:17 PM | Permalink to Comment