A Matter of Perspective

December 23rd, 2008

What’s Good and What’s Bad

As we enter the holiday season and look back on 2008, no one can deny that it’s been one hell of a year. Many adjectives spring to mind: challenging, tumultuous, extreme, uncertain. But are these necessarily bad things? What if the events of 2008 were good?

Take this story for example:

An old farmer worked his farm, with his only son, and one horse to pull the plough. One day, a herd of wild horses came through the valley and the farmer’s horse ran away with them. The farmer’s neighbors were horrified… they said, “What bad luck! How will you manage to plough your fields without a horse?” But the farmer said, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?”

Sometime later, the farmer’s horse returned to the farm, bringing with him some of the wild horses. The farmer’s son managed to catch the wild horses. The neighbors said “What good luck! You’ll be able to sell the horses at the market! You’ll be rich” But the farmer said, “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”

The farmer’s son tried to ride one of the wild horses, but was thrown and broke his leg. The neighbors said “What dreadful luck! How will you manage the farm without your son’s help?” And the farmer said… (you’ve probably got the hang of this now, eh?)

The next week, the army arrived in the valley and took away all the able-bodied young men to fight in a war far away. But they left the farmer’s son behind, because of his broken leg…

The point is, all we can really be sure of is that we don’t know what’s just around the corner. In life as in business, opportunity isn’t handed to us – it’s found by those with a different perspective, and made by those who can see the positive when others can’t.

As we move forward from these challenging/tumultuous/extreme/uncertain times, don’t focus on the “bad” but rather look for the opportunity in what’s to come.

Entry Filed under: PM Leadership