Had you been a student at Cornell University in the fall of 1946, you may have witnessed a food fight in one of the dining halls, or perhaps even joined in.  A young professor named Richard was there, and as objects streaked through the air, one plate caught his attention.  For you see, that plate had stamped along one edge the University insignia.  As the plate spun through the year, Richard noticed that as the spinning of the plate decreased, the wobbling of the edges increased.  Most of us would have been more concerned with avoiding the flying objects than noticing their rate of spin and wobble.  This moment was, however, an epiphany for this young professor.  As a physicist, the spinning plate piqued his curiosity as he wondered if the same phenomenon occurred in the electrons of atoms.  His thoughts and exploration following that food fight would lead years later to Professor Richard Feynman being awarded the Nobel Prize for his fundamental work in the field of quantum electrodynamics.

When you can, as young professor Feynman did, perceive subtleties in the environment that have significant importance you begin to see like an expert.  Everyone in that dinning hall on that day witnesses plates flying through the air.  Only Feynman detected a critical subtlety. Thousands of hours of experience and sizeable knowledge have hone experts’ perceptual radar to the point where anomalies are readily detected. In the business world, possessing a keen sense of timing that comes from an intimate understanding of how that industry and organization work leads to seeing the critical nuances in events. With an inability to discern the important from the unimportant, people on the lower steps of expertise struggle to effectively identify, and thus respond to, the most critical factors in the situations in which they find themselves.

Business is a dynamic process where many people with different responsibilities, backgrounds, skills and interests are engaged in the myriad activities of an industry. While understanding business machinations is essential, the challenge of focusing on the individuals and events that have the greatest effect on the outcome is critical.  Being able to correctly interpret the significance of the unfolding events in business allows the top performers to recognize the winds of opportunity in a meeting, market or industry and adroitly change the course of action in a direction leading to greater success.  It is all in how you see it.

About the Author – Paul G. Schempp

Dr. Schempp, president of Performance Matters, Inc., is a professional speaker, coach and consultant. Paul has more than 25 years of experience in the fields of research, teaching and professional development. Individuals and organizations in business, education and sport have elevated their expertise and achieved exceptional performance by working with Dr. Schempp.