Our goal is to make this newsletter interesting and useful. Each month, we feature an overview of a different topic, some food for thought, and perhaps a smile or two. Enjoy! and please invite others to join the Viewpoints subscription list – it’s an opt-in list on our website: www.infiniteperspectives.com .

Warmest Regards,

Charles (Charlie) Boyer
Infinite Perspectives, LLC
www.infiniteperspectives.com

EXCLUDING OTHER PERSPECTIVES. “Don’t confuse me with the facts – my mind is already made up.” “Be reasonable – do it MY way.” Do you tend to react to other viewpoints or opinions by getting upset or frustrated? Do you think you know the answers so you stop listening to the questions? Be careful – you may recognize yourself in one of these characters:

General Bullmoose.
Do you remember the comic strip, “Li’l Abner” created by the late Al Capp? Maybe you’ve seen the musical show based on the comic strip. The musical story is the same as the cartoon with its wonderful crazy characters and Dogpatch expressions that at one time were household words in America. And some characters’ names really identified their personalities – Stupefyin’ Jones, Marryin’ Sam, and the gorgeous seductress Appassionata von Climax. Al Capp sure had a way of developing colorful characters that were unforgettable. I’m thinking of General Bullmoose, the tyrant executive who was always right – even when he wasn’t.

His philosophy was pretty simple and straightforward: What’s good for General Bullmoose is good for everybody. In the musical show, there was a song created to describe the General: What’s good for General Bullmoose is good for the U.S.A. He had it all figured out. It was HIS way or else. He was the original “My Way or the Highway” kind of boss – manipulative, coercive, controlling, selfish. Of course he was always right – just ask him!

Bullmoose was a caricature of the worst traits of old-fashioned government and business leaders. But I’ve known a few people who come close to fitting the description of Capp’s cartoon figure (no names, please…). Bullmoose refused to listen to others’ viewpoints. He was so entrenched in seeing things HIS way that he couldn’t accept another way of looking at, much less solving, a problem.

The Church Lady.
Another character with limited perspective is comedian Dana Carvey’s Church Lady, a sweet-on-the-surface, overly pious, self-righteous know-it-all whose pickle-pussed judgments always made us laugh. Yet, there was always a hint of reality to her character. The Church Lady was a caricature of someone who is closed-minded to views or opinions that didn’t agree with hers, unwilling to accept the fact that others may have at least some of the answers, and an inability to look at reality beyond her own definition and experience of what’s real.

The Church Lady thought she knew who she was and what she stood for. Her sense of self was made up of her own stories and experiences, and her limited interpretation of those experiences. She didn’t want to open herself up to new ideas, or consider another’s views. Her mind was already made up – and she was right, of course. Perhaps the Church Lady was as biased in her own way as General Bullmoose was in his.

The Prima Donna.
Then there’s the one who is the “star of the show,” the “everyone wants to be me” person. Whatever the situation, whatever the conversation, whatever the experience, this person has been there, done that, and insists on telling us all about it. Name anyone in the world, and this person has met them. Name any accomplishment, and this person has done it better and in a shorter time. Name any disease, and this one has had a worse case than anyone else in the room. The world centers around them, and when it doesn’t, the prima donna often reacts by getting frustrated, upset, indifferent.

There’s an old joke that asks how many prima donnas does it take to change a lightbulb? The answer: one. She holds the light bulb up to the socket and expects the world to turn around her. I should also use “he” and “him” in that story – prima donnas are both male and female.

Excluding Other Perspectives is a part of the Coachville School of Personal Development. The course materials (http://learning.coachville.com) list the following common life situations that identify this dynamic:
• Being a control freak
• Manipulating and coercing others in an attempt to ensure your outcome
• Taking actions based on misunderstandings
• Becoming a “fundamentalist” or fanatic about anything
• Prejudice
• Bigotry
• Creating expectations of having it “my way”
• Becoming frustrated when things don’t happen the way we think they should

The “characters” described above, General Bullmoose, The Church Lady, The Prima Donna, are some ways I chose to illustrate the qualities of people who tend to exclude other perspectives. You may think of many others from your own experiences.

INCLUDING Other Perspectives is what we should be doing – being open-minded, willing to listen to and accept others’ views, and getting clear of self-limiting mindsets. It becomes a matter of making decisions based on what you know, rather than on what you think.

When you include other perspectives, according to the CV course outline, “you know things from deep within yourself, and you know the difference between thinking and knowing.” You also notice when your emotions are making your decisions, and “you know to wait for clarity before making decisions or taking action.”

What do you think? What do you think you know? What do you know?

Which of these perspectives guides you?

POINTS TO PONDER . . .
Prejudice is opinion without judgment. (Voltaire)

When the judgment’s weak, the prejudice is strong. (Kane O’Hara)

Man is the only creature that refuses to be what he is. (Albert Camus)

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance. (Confucius)

It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows. (Epictetus)

NEXT ISSUE: LeaderSavers: Seven Ways to Stay Afloat. A sneak preview of my new E-book, a survive-and-thrive handbook. It’s designed for new arts administrators, but there are a lot of tips and suggestions that apply to everyone – from ways to build trust and credibility, to getting enormous tasks done, to working with difficult people, to maintaining a healthy sense of humor. The “Seven Ways” are just the essentials – there are many, many more tips and tidbits coming. You’ll get a chance to preview the main subjects, with an invitation to provide some feedback, suggestions, comments, etc. Look for “The Tale of the Three Envelopes” in the July issue!

Infinite Perspectives Coach-Based Consulting can help YOU
• Create clear intentions for yourself and your business
• Build your team into a well-tuned ensemble
• Find your sunshine and stay out of your own shadows

Call (303) 972-2581 to schedule your complimentary consultation.