59 – Perception is Not Reality – Why

Today I want to discuss something that really burns me when I hear about it. It’s such a labelling of a boatload of misinformation and bad information, and that is this expression: “Perception equals reality.” Come on. Get a life.

I’d like to say it stems from some of the newer things that happened today where people are basically having some bad teaching, schooling, etc., but this stems way back. It goes back into probably the ’70s or ’80s even, where this was breeding, this kind of information from—yes—MBA programs.

Why is it even important? Because in order to market well and also to interpret well what’s going on in the world around you and when you’re seeing products, you need to know this and you need to know the fine differences between perception, bias, reality, and personal preference. Let me explain each of those.

It probably doesn’t surprise me, particularly today. I just heard today, something about 10% of college graduates who were interviewed, these were recently graduating seniors from college, thought that Judge Judy was on the Supreme Court. You’ve heard things about them being surveyed, they didn’t know who George Washington was, they didn’t know who the first president was, (which is George Washington, in case you haven’t heard), and a whole bunch of other things.

Part of it happens from the idea, the assumption that you do research, you get facts, and that means you’re right. No, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re right, because if I do some research and I think of something, and you do some research on the same topic, you have something else – that doesn’t make either one of us necessarily right or wrong. When we start talking, we may find a better solution, but it doesn’t mean: I’m right, you’re wrong.

What I’ll be discussing here is that there are really two parts. One is actually born in the idea of bias, and the other part is personal preference. Those two are very critical and very important if you have any product or service that you want to supply or sell, as well as if you’re a consumer. But people think that somehow they’re better perceiving or judging than somebody else, that’s why everybody thinks that their way is the right way; they are in the right and somebody else is in the wrong.

What really happens, there? It actually reminds me a little bit of something a little bit off on a tangent as an analogy. I saw this in a book one time, and it talked about how almost everybody, if they think they’re honest, if they’re honest, almost everybody will say: “Yes, I am.” Then ask them the question: “How many people do you know that you believe are truly honest?” And they’ll say: “Very few.” So, what has happened, there? Yes, it’s a difference between what they think and what their rules are, but it’s an abstract idea. Reality is a combination of perception (what you see) and the error, that is what mistakes, bias, or other things that you’re making as a mistake.

For example, you go and measure something, they say: “Measure twice, cut once.” Why do they do that? Because you’re liable to make an error. If you’re doing anything, you want to eliminate the error or the lack of information. Some error is just because you don’t have as much information so far. The missing information doesn’t mean that what you’re perceiving is reality. It just means you don’t have all your questions answered and all the perceptions proper. The error is a combination of missing information, bias, and just absolute mistakes.

To consider that your perception is reality and ignore those three things means that you’re not going to seek a better solution. I’ll get to why this is important for your customer shortly if you have any product or service. Your perception is based or focused on your past experience, your understanding, and the interpretation you have of everything around you. But be careful of mistakes or misinterpretations.

For example, and I’m actually taking some stuff out of some very h...