Is it possible to look at the same sky and see two different versions of the present? Here in Seattle it is sunny (whimsical as that may seem on the surface), partly sunny or mostly sunny. At home in the Bay Area it is sunny (that goes without saying) cloudy (minutes before it rains) or partly cloudy (which means so few clouds as to be unnoticeable). After a couple of days on the Puget Sound I get the sunny thing. The clouds do not go away so the sun is surprising, refreshing and fleeting. At home the clouds come, it maybe rains and then they go. So a cloudy day usually means rain.
Is the glass half full or half empty? What if it is important for an outcome for each to understand the others assumptions? I have seen groups of people in initiatives argue over the need to see the sun or the clouds. From the external perspective (without an empathy injection) I think it is a silly dance over semantics. For those stakeholders it can be important and it can be crucial. The change agent can mediate, address each and compromise or (my favorite) change the conversation with new assumptions.
Let’s try then to look at the sky and ask whether or not it will rain.
It may now make sense if we are in Seattle to see the sun; in the Bay Area to see the clouds. We may now have the capacity to bring in the benefits of both to address our current perspective. Maybe clouds are predicative of rain and maybe sun is an indicator of no rain or at least less. Going out the door and down the path we can now choose what to wear.