Two CEOs of two mid-sized software companies and I were talking last week.
The discussion was about how we see the software industry in 2013.
All three of us agreed that the industry has become more challenging and the preconceived norms of getting things done will be changed.
We also thought that more challenges are bringing more opportunities as well.
To see the opportunities on the face of challenges required us to challenge the dominating thought patterns and come up with a novel approach.
We talked about technology, a business of technology and money. One of the CEOs, Jacky, talked about money more than anything else.
His perspective was centered around “the money talk“.
He is an execution-focused CEO and has created a breakthrough in his business in recent years.
The other, the more experienced CEO said, “If you don’t feel bad, I’d like to give you a friendly input which I learned the hard way a couple of years back: I heard ‘money’ word more than 5 times in past 10 minutes. I’m afraid if people would perceive you as a typical money-minded businessman.”
“I know you personally and I would not perceive you that way though but if a tech person from my company would overhear this conversation then she might think that you are money-minded and all your decisions are based maximizing the profit.”
The people in the tech industry want their tech skills to be respected (and celebrated) more than finances. When they hear your perspective, they might not feel comfortable interacting with you which might ultimately result in inferior financials for your company.
Jacky is a good listener and learner. He listened to the advice and said, “Thank you so much. I will make the necessary changes!”
Then we ended our discussion and went to our homes.
That conversation gave me a thought, “It is not who we are, it is what people around us perceive us.”
Jacky has achieved his success through that mindset only whereas the other, more experienced CEO, who was thoughtful was seeing at the conversation from a different angle.
Perspective matters.
Here, the point is not if money mindedness is right or not, but the point is, you should be aware of what perceptions people get when they interact with you.
Perceptions affect the results you get in your life.
Chances of success increase for the one who can influence the perceptions of people. Your words and your behavior are the tools to influence others. Use them deliberately!
