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by Kevin Eikenberry

"'Now then, Pooh' said Christopher Robin, 'where's your boat?' 'Sometimes it's a Boat, and sometimes it's more of an Accident. It all depends.' 'Depends on what?' On whether I'm on the top of it or underneath it.'" - Winnie the Pooh

"Managers become increasingly effective as they develop a wider range of perspective for viewing the world they live in." - Robert E. Quinn

Friday, it rained.  It's Indianapolis, and the weekend of the second annual Brickyard 400 NASCAR race.  Big deal.  Largest purse in the sport.  And the second day of qualifying was a "wash".  Friday night, all the weather forecasts said that the likelihood of running were slim as the remnants of Hurricane Erin was on it's way.  

Friday night, it rained.  Saturday morning, it rained.  People still went to the track for the 12:15 start time.  They all got wet, and they all waited.  All 300,000 of them. They all wanted it to stop raining.  The 41 drivers, their teams, their owners, their sponsors.  They all wanted it to stop raining.  The track owners.  They wanted it to stop raining.  ABC, which was going to televise the race live.  They wanted it to stop raining.  It rained anyway.

The rain was the big story here this weekend, most of the stories about how awful it was - potentially ruining the second running of this race.  But not everyone was upset ... Somewhere in central Indiana there was a gardener who was glad it rained, because now she would have better tomatoes for canning.  There were lots of 
farmers who were pleased at the rain, at a time critical to the maturation of their corn crop.  

Lots of suburban homeowners were glad too - the rain would keep them from dragging hoses to water their lawns for at least a few days.  As it turns out, the food vendors in and around the Speedway also liked the rain, as they could sell more food to the thousands of bored and hungry fans.  Somewhere too, a family took the rain as a 
pleasing Saturday morning excuse to relax, and maybe sleep in.

Same rainstorm. Very different perspectives.

How often do we get caught up in our own perspective on a situation, getting blinded to other options and/or opportunities?  We spend our time saying (or thinking) "Woe is me, the situation is so bad "  When in fact the situation is just that - a situation, inherently neither good nor bad. 

What made the rain "bad" to so many people was their perspective.  They told themselves it was bad.  But inside there was lots of opportunity.  How many new friendships were formed because people talked to those around them in their seats during the (four-hour) wait?  And what will people talk about, in three months 
(or three years) about this race?  Dale Earnhart's pass at the end?  Or will they laugh about the rain?  I think you know the answer.

The rain was neither good nor bad.  Neither is the situation facing you right now.  It is surely not as completely bad as you might think.  Put on a different pair of glasses for a minute.  What other perspective is there that you should consider?  And what changes to 
your plans should you make because of it?  My advice in four words? 

Proactively expand your perspective!
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Kevin Eikenberry <mailto:kevin@discian.com> is a speaker, trainer, author, and President of the Discian Group (http://discian.com ) - a learning consulting company committed to helping organizations, teams, and Individuals reach their performance goals through 
learning.

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