‘People actually do see the world differently. It’s not merely that they’re possessed of ill-informed opinions.’
- Jordan B. Peterson
Today’s quick thought is about real differences.
Dr. Peterson has become a bit of a cultural flashpoint for some of his ideas. I originally started watching him for his lectures, first at Harvard and then at the University of Toronto. I valued (and still do) his grasp on the psychological and neurobiological literature and his application of that to the business world. He simply knows the best available data and has applied it extensively in practical settings. That’s kind of the definition of an expert.
And I love this quote. Not because it is accurate (though it is), but because everyone says it is true but then immediately acts like it isn’t. They’ll say out of one side of their mouth that people are different and unique, and then proceed to deal with the person next to them (or their employees, or their spouse) like they should be a carbon copy of themselves.
Person B should communicate exactly how Person A does - should think the same, behave the same, be motivated by the same things.
Even though there’s been 5 red flags in an interview - where there are instances of credible data proving that someone will act or be motivated in a way different than what the employer was looking for - it can ‘be trained’ out of them. Or they will change once they get the job.
Here’s the deal: people actually do see the world differently. They really are motivated by different things. You may be motivated by money or status and think everyone should be too, but they aren’t.
And you can be as offended and confused by that fact as you like, but it doesn’t change the fact. If you want to do something productive with your confusion/offense, you can learn how to leverage those differences to meet the needs of your company, your clients, or your customer.
You can learn the different types of people who fit with different types of jobs at your company.
We need to stop just saying that it’s true and start acting like it’s true.
That’s your Tuesday Quick Thought. If you want to start figuring out what those differences are, how to measure them, and then how to use that knowledge to make better decisions in your life, get in touch. We do that for our clients every day.