Perception (Slow Down)


PERCEPTION

Something To Think About
Shared by Jim Bowden, a wonderful friend and leader at Disney
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A book I recently read titled, Somebodies and Nobodies – Overcoming the Abuse of Rank, the author, Robert W. Fuller, shared, “To be invisible is to be deprived of even a chance for recognition.”  He then quoted a psychologist by the name of William James, “The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated”.


How we invest spending time with and listening to others can help reinforce the appreciation all of us want and need.  Positive engagement helps foster inclusion.


I hope you enjoy this read and can leverage it within your organizations.
Jim Bowden
Disney
Global Strategies for Diversity & Inclusion


 
Perception
Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes, a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, then hurried to meet his schedule.

 4 minutes later:
  
 The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
  
6 minutes:

 A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
 
10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time.. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:
 
The musician played continuously.  Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace.  The man collected a total of $32.

 1 hour:

 He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition..
  
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story.. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.


 The questions raised:

      *In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

       *Do we stop to appreciate it?

       *Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

 
 One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

 If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made...

 How many other things are we missing?

*I thought I would pass this along to you.  It is something I recently shared with some of my colleagues.  This is a “quick read”, but a powerful reminder.  At the end of the article, there are a few questions to think about. (The Washington Post did a story on this back in 2007.)  



·         Was this really about the time of day that stopped others from engaging in the experience or was it because of possible perceptions people had about the person playing the violin (e.g. “he is homeless”  “he is begging for money”)?

Comments

It's a sad commentary on our society and certainly made me think. Perception and belief are so powerful! Thanks for sharing Brian.
Brian Siegel said…
Glad I could inspire you for once!

Did you know the average human listens for 17 seconds, but speaks for over 30 seconds!

What a gap, and think of the lost information.

That made me think of the relevance of the "perception".

Appreciate your comment!

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