Monkeys

Last week blew up on me a bit and I didn't get a chance to queue up something for today and tomorrow. That would ordinarily be okay except that I'm out of the office for a software training today and tomorrow and my time is limited. So, today's blog comes from my father-in-law even though he doesn't know he's guest-posting.

We had a conversation on the ride in this morning (the software training is at his church) about monkeys and leadership.

There's an old story about a bunch of monkeys climbing the tree. When the leaders look down, all they see is a bunch of smiling faces. When the followers look up the tree, all they see is a bunch of... well... you know.

The point is: in an organization, perspective is everything.

From the bottom, it's easy to see everyone above you as a "you-know-what." From the top, it's easy to see a bunch of smiling faces. If you want perspective to change without your position changing, you have to bend over backwards.