Business Review – People

Really, I’m reviewing people? Yes, yes I am, “people”.

Dealing with people is as complex as trying to find a specific grain of sand in the ocean. The same words will produce infinite responses from different people! It varies by the individual’s past experiences, preconceived notions, mood, attitude, background, and so much more.

That being said, I realize how difficult it must be to be in the public eye or public service. No matter how diplomatic, fair, or good you are, people will almost always misinterpret things that you say. Some will love and support you, while others will hate and lash out against you.

It’s just a fact. Recently I’ve had interactions with people where I said or did something that they completely misunderstood and they then proceeded to attack me in one way or another.

Being that I am who I am, in all the scenarios I have chosen the path of least resistance. I’d never drop names because I respect individual privacy, and more importantly I am not in the market for enemies. If I were, why would I be diplomatic to begin with?

Here are a few scenarios, with no details or identifying factors. Just the core scenario for the sake of explanation.

Statement: You are so simple.

Feeling: Not good, this made me angry. I am far from simple.

Response: I’m going to end this discussion now in the interest of peace.

Statement: You are being creepy, leave me alone.

Feeling: Shock and insult.

Response: I apologize for what you have perceived as creepy. It won’t happen again. Discussion over.

Statement: You did blah blah blah!

Feeling: Defensive, I did not.

Response: I assure you I did not. Why would I do that? You have me all wrong.

Most of these scenarios originated from statements that most people perceived as innocent. Most agreed and complied in any requests, however some people took it completely out of context. People will never see things in the same light. If there is one thing people are not, it’s simple.

Can you imagine if we had power over the military and little things like this came up? This is how wars start, a few misunderstandings. We need to work on better communication.