Whose Reality?
Similar to the glare coming off of glaciers, the ‘Nova” like sunrise awakens us on the mountain. Tilting my gaze away from him toward the West, Mike inquires as to why I am so quiet, not greeting his inquiries with my typical spring-forth-into-the-new-day, deluge of ideas. “It’s so bright, I can’t even open my eyes or turn my head toward you”. We are so blessed to live here, the view through wall-to-wall, rail-to-ceiling windows, a panorama almost like living in a tree house. In just a few minutes more the oaks, maples and pine tops will filter the sunlight enough so that I can begin writing --- my Monday morning ritual.
He shares an interesting spot from the magazine section of the paper – speaking to 3-4 methods to aid one in sleep. “Not interested?”, no I am, but had it not been brought to my attention, it might have never crossed my radar. Sleep is my respite, my body’s rhythm routinely in sync.
He's visited the city 7 or more times in his life, 'a tourist'. I grew up there, and moved away 30 years ago, but as the bus pulled into Port Authority – like muscle-memory, the route, the pace, the cadence, all became our guide as we had the most magnificent day sharing birthday blessings, and our first Lincoln Center show, excited to see our Niece in a tender and moving choral performance.
Like muscle-memory it all came back, and that street-wise second sense antenna guided. Returning to the bus terminal that evening, we both noticed dissimilar aspects. His, the police making this remote access point safer, I, paying attention to the young man walking his bike away from the police – blood down his face as they directed him to a public bathroom if he needed to wash up. Like sonar, my being in autopilot to this and other environmental occurrences.
My reality and his differ. He felt no need to be ‘on a mission’ through the station; I never considered a need for mechanisms to support one’s ‘going to sleep’, as I can fall asleep in minutes.
At lunch, my nephew and I compared perspectives on consulting engagements and various methods on conducting intakes and ‘surveys’. He shared a most recent overseas assignment, we both nod and smile at the similarities, and universality - how many opportunities there are for improvement, how obvious to us. I think of the reality equation. Most clients or prospects consumed in their day-to-day, so acutely tuned into the operation, almost rote cause and effect responses. Too involved to view it any other way. We are invited in, and although the firmament is the same, the overlay from our reality is remarkably different.
Translating this vision into action, is more than a science, it is sometimes an art. The blinding sun this morning, the reflections from yesterday, the magazine article, and the concern I have for a client whom I briefly chatted with on Friday - where there may have been a disconnect in approach, now converge.
If it were indeed as simple as templating the solution onto their landscape – we would have been further along. Rather, as in engineering any two systems, stress points and tolerances need to be adjusted. People and processes, and creating the required accessibility to fine tune, need to be prioritized. Have I compromised our progress by being too accommodating, and not trying to cross the leadership line too much?
Today is a wake-up call, a re-sensitization to the importance of being mindful of the different realities and attuning to the art of syncing the understanding – a renewed approach toward realizing the goal.
Today I am reminded that practicing ‘letting go’ of my perspective, and seeing it from the other side, will provide the tools, to reengineering the solution, to be integrated, sustainable, and successful.
“The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way”