In my last blog I talked about the difference between perception and perspective. I implied that perspective could give one an advantage in life, not just because it provides more useful information upon which to base one’s beliefs and behaviors, but also because it is more rare than the skill of perception.
In this blog I will be more practical. It will address the question: how do I improve my perspective?
Most people walk around living in their own perceptive haze, looking out into the world and taking only the information they can see, feel, hear, taste and touch. In contrast, the one who lives with perspective sees, feels, hears, tastes and touches the world as others do. This gives the person of perspective an information advantage. What is the advantage useful for? The person acting from perspective can predict what other people will do.
If you are a leader, a salesman, or anyone whose job depends upon persuading or influencing others, then to be good at your job you will need to discern what moves people to do what they do. Perspective is what allows you to do that. Perspective is not the same as empathy (understanding what others feel) or sympathy (feeling what others feel), which are judgments you make out of feeling. Perspective considers empathy and sympathy as part of a broader range of observations that also include behavior — actions, speech, what people do and say. If you can discern motivations you are able to pull levers, and that is your influence.
Although there may be no step-by-step program on how to learn this skill, a number of methods from military intelligence may help one to better transition from perception to perspective. Military intelligence is about discerning motives and logistics, and from that, deducing tactics and strategies. Intelligence is interested in accurate assessments, strategic planning, and effective decision-making. You are interested in these as well.
How do you do that?
Integrate data from various sources. Combine observations of what people say and do and under what circumstances. Observe their environment, the interactions they have with others, their favored places, and how they react.
Use a Red Team, i.e., people in your own circle whose job is to challenge your assumptions, facts, sources and reasoning. Members of the Red Team may also simulate emotional reactions. Some of them might act rude, especially when they point out shocking vulnerabilities. But they’re your friends, you get the picture.
Develop cultural intelligence and try to understand the cultural nuances of that influence the perspectives and actions of various actors who are the object of your analysis.
For more complex perspectives, you can engage your circle to visualize scenarios that explore a range of potential outcomes. This allows you to expand your perspectives even more, and devise strategies that are adaptable to diverse situations.
A cultural perspective also aims to understand the social and political dynamics that influence decisions. Religion, family or clan histories, and level of education have great effects on how people perceive grievances and motivations.
Foster collaboration and information-sharing among different people. You will want to have a wide network that will also include people who do not think at all like you. You will be consuming media that represent a spectrum of positions.
It is an advantage to have a grasp of human psychology. You should be able to identify incentives, and to understand how different people perceive information and messaging. This cannot be overstressed: people really differ in the way they PROCESS information, such that given exactly the same data, different people will reach different conclusions. The flip side is that people who belong in the same group tend to think so similarly that their “perspective” more closely resembles group perception, also called groupthink. Knowing these nuances also helps you craft effective communication strategies and counter adversarial narratives.
Learn ethics and incorporate that in your decision and action plans. Ethical actions are also considerate actions even as they try to be as objective as possible. Emotions can be formidable barriers to proper decision making, so much so that surgeons often refuse to operate on their relatives.
Always be learning. Update yourself about evolving political, geographical, cultural, and economic landscapes. Stay informed about technology. Be cautious also about how technology, e.g., social media, affects the way people think and how they see themselves and others. Consider how ideas can become fixed in the minds of people who are especially living in perceptive haze, i.e., those who refuse to see the world in any other way than their own.
Learn also to incorporate risk analysis in your thinking. People who are excited about their findings are the most blind to the potential difficulties and weak points, and so risk analysis is an important part of scenario planning. Note that risks often come from subjective fears and anxieties. In other words, we cannot assume that people will always act rationally. The beauty here is that people’s biases tend to fall within a few classes of cognitive errors. Daniel Kahneman describes these cognitive biases in his popular book Thinking, Fast and Slow.
“Our comforting conviction that the world makes sense rests on a secure foundation: our almost unlimited ability to ignore our ignorance.”
Daniel Kahneman (1934- )
The ability to transcend basic perception and gain a deeper understanding of perspectives is essential for accurate risk assessments, effective planning, and successful operations. These strategies ensure that you can navigate complex and dynamic social landscapes with a nuanced understanding of diverse perspectives.
(Q.C., 231202)
jaylazzo 