Ep53: How the Yanni v.s. Laurel Debate Relates to Business

Did you listen to the now famous “Laurel vs Yanni” audio that has been making its rounds on social media? Despite an ingrained reluctance to participate in such popular phenomena, Jodi noticed an important message inherent in the debate – even here, in this simple form, people hear different things.

And some people even think kale is sweet.

Why is that important for business?

With all of the value judgements and complexity and nuance stripped away, people will still have different experiences of the same thing. And if it happens in this, the most binary version of perception, is it surprising that we hear or see completely different things in more complex situations? If we can have such different experiences of a simple audio clip, then it shines a light on much needed respect for how often that is happening in more complex and nuanced situation.

Whether we like it or not, we see and experience things differently, and we cannot ignore that.

There is a translation problem between what I experience and what you do. Stephen king thinks the magic of writing is that he can take what is in his mind and can magically put it in yours. But can he? He thinks he does, but once it has reached my mind, I do with it what I want.

Sometimes, two people’s truths don’t match up, and it isn’t about being right. Our starting point in these situations needs to be curiosity. Instead of  arguing perspective, we need to ask “how is it that you see something I don’t”.

That when you go out into the woods and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some of them are bent, and some of them are straight, and some of them are evergreens, and some of them are whatever. And you look at the tree and you allow it. You appreciate it. You see why it is the way it is. You sort of understand that it didn’t get enough light, and so it turned that way. And you don’t get all emotional about it. You just allow it. You appreciate the tree.

The minute you get near humans, you lose all that. And you are constantly saying “You’re too this, or I’m too this.” That judging mind comes in. And so I practice turning people into trees. Which means appreciating them just the way they are. Ram Dass

You have to allow for the why and how questions, and you can proactively acknowledge perspective by using the phrase Brene Brown employs when dealing with conflict: “the story I am making up in my head is…”

Like an M&M, every nugget of peanuty truth is wrapped in a chocolate story. The goal isn’t to address only the peanut, but to be able to discern the different between the peanut and the chocolate.

What story do you want to tell?

So, that's our story... now, we want to hear yours!

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