Are You Losing Business Because of Your Judgments?
Filtered through our memories of good and bad past experiences, our judgments and evaluations happen in an instant. We do this without any conscious thinking. We’re not aware of our how our judgments control our actions. Everything and everyone, we’re judging all the time. And most of the time our preconceived notions and judgment are incorrect! In business networking our preconceived notions and judgements may not always serve us. For instance;Recall the last time you were driving and saw a cop in your rear view mirror. What when through your mind? Were you in reality driving ‘incorrectly’?
Just like the police in your rear view mirror, when you see someone you judge whether they’re fat, or thin, loud or quiet, attractive or ugly, and darn near anything else about them. Your mind is reacting to a sequence of responses that it’s been pre-conditioned to. Which may really hinder you at networking events. I’m not talking about your ‘gut’ feelings and intuitions which are always accurate. The problem is when we don’t listen to our inner knowings. I don’t always listen.
Here’s a personal example of how “seeing a cop” works. I have a thing for Halle Berry. In both business and my personal life, this physical attraction has caused me problems. My intuition usually tells me, when I meet someone that resembles Halle Berry that:”the inside ain’t as pretty as the outside”. Not paying attention to what my intuition says has cost me, both financially and emotionally. A similar thing happen when we are repelled by someone. Beginning to sound familiar?
Without even thinking we’ve made up our mind about the other person in three to four seconds. “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” is a phrase I’m sure you’ve heard. There’s some truth to it. Regardless of how we dress, look or present ourselves we have little to no control over how we are perceived by others. Our perceptions of other people are all that we have control over.
This is the bottom line for your business. Don’t judge a power partner (business networking partner) by their cover.
