We sell similar products and draw from the same pool of customers and employees but some never really manage to get it right due to their mental altitude.
We have enough reasons to cerebrate; we have not closed business, we can pay our bills, we have good health, good job, good friends and prospects of better days ahead.
A story is told of a great teacher who one day in a class test distributed papers to his students, paper front side facing down. He then asked the class to turn over the paper and start the test. But there were no questions on the paper — just black dot in the page; some had one spot, others two or three at most.
“I want you to write a few paragraphs about what you see on your paper,” the teacher said.
The students, used to the teacher’s antics started the test in earnest. Once everyone finished, the teacher picked the papers and started reading the answers out loud.
Quite remarkably all the students had written about the black dots, mentioning their position, size and so on.
Visibly disappointed, the teacher told the students, “You have all failed this test. I wanted you to think about something; to see the bigger picture in life. All of you focused on the black dots and ignored the big part of the paper that was clean and not dotted.”
He then declared that this is what usually happens in our lives. Our world is one big white paper but checkered with black, unpleasant dots here and there. But most of the time we missed the bigger, pleasant parts that are not dotted and concentrate on tiny insignificant dots.
In business we focus more on the losses we have made and ignore the gains; we complain about what is not working in the economy, what employees are not doing right, the bad customers and few bad experiences. We forget the many good opportunities in our economy, the many institutions that are working, loyal customers and employees who form the backbone of our success but never appreciated.
Human psychologists have established a strong connection between a person’s happiness, appreciation and success. People who are happy and appreciative tend to succeed more than pessimist and sadists who are always complaining and seeing the half empty glass.
We all operate in the same business environment. We sell similar products and draw from the same pool of customers and employees but some never really manage to get it right due to their mental altitude.
We have enough reasons to cerebrate; we have not closed business, we can pay our bills, we have good health, good job, good friends and prospects of better days ahead.
On the other side we have our portion of black dots - disappointments, setbacks, frustrations, fears and anxieties. We should not let these spoil our broth.
Black ‘dots’ come in all sizes and shapes. Some may be small, others big and life-changing. It is how you manage such unpleasant occasions that determine how fast you succeed in your business, in your life and your career.
We don’t live in a perfect world and no one is perfect. Tame expectations and reframe your thinking. Regardless of how thick things get look at the big picture and get some perspective on what went wrong. Learn from it. If you cannot change or rectify it, you may have to change course and move on and learn from the experience.
Mr Kiunga is a business trainer and the author of ‘The Art of Entrepreneurship: Strategies to Succeed in a Competitive Market’
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