Welcome to our world, Citizens of Justice.
Today, we tackle the issue of perspective and how placing yourself in different viewpoints can be used to your advantage. But first, a short talk about Relativity Media.
No, it’s not another convoluted theory of mine. It is a production company at most, but it brought us a very insightful movie named “Vantage Point” which chronicles eight different viewpoints from eight different strangers to unlock the one truth behind an assassination attempt on the president of the United States. Without spoiling the details of this highly recommended film, there are some perspectives that really relay how unknowing each individual at one point in time is about their surroundings. It’s as eerie as the paper ghost of Smitty Werben Man Jensen (after all, he was number one). Burden of proof is immense! If you have a claim, stake it with evidence and rock out loud to logic behind it.
Returning from the digression, why should any of you be concerned with this? Have you ever experienced a majority (in this example, a “majority” refers to any entity, source, or organization that has higher authority than you according to age, caste, tier, experience, etc.) tell you to place yourself in someone else’s shoes for once? As annoying as the thought is, whoever said that is right: you cannot formulate thoughts and theorems solely on your own perspective, not on account of selfishness, but because it is inadequate. Imagine if the world truly only functioned for one person only: yourself – that would be madness. More mad than Mad Cow Disease (that is what I call “udder madness”).
In addition to being a Citizen of Justice, you must always strive to find out the truth yourself through investigation and asking people’s perspective on certain events to explain all phenomena. This can alleviate confusion, but it can also be advantageous to your endeavors: imagine you want to close a business deal/series of negotiations but you are going in empty-handed without any prior knowledge. Confide in a coworker/professional who knows much about the subject and start asking around for general information, adhering to the 5 W Analysis of Who, What, Where, When, and Why, in that specific order. Then start looking for evidence that supports your position, but can be acquired in a fair manner (yes, let’s reiterate 4th Amendment protections).
ALL OF THIS MEANS NOTHING UNLESS YOU CAN ANALYZE IT. Determine how each piece of information supports the evidence generated and weave yourself a coherent story that can be used as your leverage in negotiations. Establish a supply and demand mindset in your plan which reflects the idea that people are more likely to act if the end result benefits them in some way. Now you can go to your boss and lay out your plan for company restructuring, or convey to all meeting participants why neon colors are more effective in marketing a sports domain than a casual consumer domain. That is the principle of business – always go into negotiations with evidence and something to offer.
However, and this may sound crass, don’t make yourself overly-philanthropic. Nice guys and gals do finish last because they offer too much without asking for something in return. Asking for something might bring frowns, but if everyone serves to please everyone else NOTHING would get done. Progress is achieved through communication, understanding, compromise, and action. Never reveal the cards of your hand too soon, and always keep your poker face on because your adversary might be doing just the same thing. In this world, it is nice to have someone to confide in, but always keep in mind that everyone acts through a façade until broken through. Use the principle of multiple perspective and ask around “why aren’t you aware of this?” or “how can I better understand from your viewpoint?” You might just learn something about yourself along the way.
Always a pleasure. Venture forth, Citizens of Justice!
