The other day I was working at our local overpriced national coffee conglomerate when I was distracted by the conversation unfolding at the table next to me. Being a naturally curious person, my interest crossed the line from white-noise background observation to complete investment after hearing one of the women say “Well, it’s all in how you look at it, I suppose.” Ooh, that did it! Multiple perspectives on the table? Yes, please! I had to hear the perspective smorgasbord unfolding next to me. In addition to killing the cat, curiosity was soon to make my coffee cold as well.
It was a relatively benign conversation (calm down Lady Whistledown readers) and it centered on, of all topics, the weather.
Backing up a bit, one woman was preparing to go on a camping trip with her family. The other woman said she should expect to get some nasty weather as her phone was calling for a 60% chance of rain for the majority of their trip. The first woman told her that wasn’t the whole story and went on to explain the weather percentage doesn’t indicate the chance of rain necessarily, but indicates how much of that area will experience rainfall. So in reality, there was a 100% chance that 60% of that area would get rain. And it means that there is a 40% chance of sun! So they were still going given that they’ll probably have decent weather in the end.
Wait, what?!?!? Right there I knew I had to put a pin in that; I had never heard that take before. (Fact-checked later, the woman appeared to be incorrect with her statement, but that didn’t derail me in my current state of curiosity. Meteorologists in the group feel free to chime in.)
The conversation wasn’t really about the weather – it was about the perspective the women were taking on a calculated risk of return. One woman was willing to take the chance given there might be a 40% chance of sun, while the other woman felt a 60% chance of rain called for keeping the gear in the garage.
We know some of us are more conservative and risk-averse than others; we see it every day on our teams, with our leaders and managers, and when we analyze our behaviors with those of others. Neither approach nor perspective is right or wrong. They are not the same. They are different.
It is indeed a matter of perspective.
Sometimes we can get stuck in our own weather patterns and it can be difficult to stretch the boundaries of our own perspective. Our view may not be what others see and it’s healthy to share it just the same.
The women seemed to agree to disagree on the weather and quickly moved on to the imminent gear still needed for the big trip, thereby discussing the sale at the newly opened REI Co-Op they were about to tear through. I, in turn, returned to my now cold coffee and unfinished document.
As I did so, I was left with this final thought…we’re sometimes long on perspectives and differing opinions, and we’re short on community and commonality. Maybe we should move more swiftly (like these ladies did) to get to the connecting part. Might it lead to better weather outcomes?
