If you ever questioned consulting firm, McKinsey’s, view that two thirds of purchasing decisions are made as a result of word of mouth, take a look at the comments column on my blog. With a few minor exceptions, I have the good fortune to enjoy an eclectic mix of commentary that has, over the past year, totaled something akin to the square root of nothing. This weekend, the reason why came home to roost.
Among the many, sometimes less than many, people who have the courtesy, interest, curiosity or misfortune to stumble onto this blog, there’s always a good number who’ll trump up with a point of view at a later date. And very rarely, in fact, is that point of view anything less than the foundation for a healthy debate about one issue or the other. The thing is, they tend to wait until I’m in the room. Or on the phone. Or even on the other end of an email. Yes, come on, come on …. you know who you are. Sitting there, cringing at your screen as you wonder if you’re about to be globally fingered, so to speak. Fear not. I’m far too noble for that.
So where was I? Ah, yes. The inability or unwillingness of some/ many/ most to want to pipe up in the public domain. The reluctance to get up there on the virtual soapbox that is Planet Blog and share a point of view that has every good reason of being shot down in a blast of online shrapnel from all quarters. Or, to the contrary, celebrated as a moment of utter inspiration and genius of the MENSA busting kind. I suppose, in their defense, it’s no different in the real world. How many people are honestly comfortable to line up at Poet’s Corner to get the chance to speak to the masses on a chilled Sunday morning and espouse the virtues of lama milk – or some other trite piece of wisdom? At least blogging has the cloak of anonymity to shroud them.
Still, I digress. What’s interesting here is not the fact that I was taken to task on a point of view. That comes with the scenery in my profession. What’s (mildly) interesting is the position Mr He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named took. And it was this. Perception is not reality – countering what I had so loosely proposed in my last posting.
Nonsense, I say. And here’s 5 reasons why:
The Classics Rationale: “What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.” Plutarch. This is more than a brilliant observation from a dude in a white smock. It is a recognition that our very existence impacts the lives of those around us in some way, large or small. And, presumably, the more we achieve, the greater our impact will be. Career hopefuls and planet savers, take note.
The Sporting Rationale: “Just Do It”. Nike. As we sprint, choking, towards the Olympics, we’re reminded that a globally recognised brand was build on the premise that if you truly believe you can do something, you will. Which not only makes it a reality for you. It makes it a harsh reality for those who come in second.
The Political Rationale: “I have a dream”. Martin Luther King. At the time of MLK’s speech in 1963, oppression was a reality in the Southern States of America. Freedom and justice for the African American community was a far away then as it is, so some would say, for the citizens of Iraq today. And yet it took a dream to fuel the imagination of what a free world could look like. And without that imagination, it could never have become what it has become.
The Science Fiction Rationale: “We choose to go to the moon”. JFK. Just as few could have imagined the future impact of the automobile in 1900, so fewer still thought the prospect of getting a man to the moon by the end of the 1960s was science fact. But Kennedy held the belief that it could happen and had the impetus to ensure that it did. Right up to his death, he created a momentum of belief that became impossible for future governments to reverse. He created the perception that it could be done and it was. Allegedly.
The Christmas Rationale: “Ho-Ho-Ho”. Santa Claus. Without wanting to spoil the fun, Father Christmas does not exist. He is the figment of the German’s imagination and the willingness of a thousand generations of parents to openly lie to their children all in the name of a glass of sherry, a mince-pie and an early night. For the innocent young, of course, Father Christmas is as real as Granny’s sloppy kisses on Christmas morning, Daddy’s snoring after lunch and the fact that batteries are still not included after all these years.
Perception is reality. If you truly believe something to be, you can not only change someone’s mind, but you can change the very essence of what they are capable of. And it is from that premise that anything can happen. It’s the Big Bang theory in miniature. Something, anything, can come from nothing. If you don’t believe me, let me know via this blog. That could be a real reality check.
