I was
thinking one day that how I should I measure my success earlier as a
professional or now as a consultant, a writer, a trainer & an entrepreneur.
Should it be on the money I make? Should it be on the revenues of the company? Should
it be on the benefits delivered to the client? I struggled around the answer
until I read about an experiment conducted by The Washington Post as a study in
context, perception and priorities at a Metro subway station in Washington DC.
It was a cold, winter morning in Washington, DC,
a solitary violinist played Bach and Schubert for about 45 minutes in the corner of a Metro subway station. About 1,000 people walked past him as he played.
Every few minutes, a person might stop
for a moment or toss in a dollar or two. Other than that, no one paid
much attention to the violinist.
One young
person stopped, very curious. He tried to stay, but his mother pulled him along.
He was three years old.
The
violinist played for 45 minutes before he packed up his instrument. There was
no applause, no one spoke to him, and no one noticed his departure.
His take?
$32 in all.
Let me
share little bit more about this violinist.
He was
Joshua Bell, one of the world’s most famous musicians. He played on his
Stradivarius, one of the finest, rarest and most expensive violins in existence
at that time.
The same Joshua
Bell, a night before had played to a sold-out concert in Boston where the average
price was $100.
What is interesting to note that the
only person who was most interested in listening to Joshua was a child. As we
mature, our brains learn to categorize an experience based on context. Children are less prone automatically to assign meaning
to an experience based on context, and are able to perceive that some wonderful music was to be heard, despite the subway platform setting.
For the adults, in that context Joshua
Bell playing in the Washington, DC subway was worth $32.
In contrast, in another context,
Joshua Bell performing at Boston’s Symphony Hall was worth approximately $220,000.
The drum beats are important but where
you play the drum is as important. Who you play in front of is also as
important? The context setting for adults is very different.
I realized that rewards (money most of
the time J) you get are not necessarily only for
your attitude, knowledge & skills but for “the context” or the situation of the client (let’s call this
situation as an opportunity or a threat - it may be perceived opportunity or threat
as well).It also depends on “the priorities”-a
company struggling with revenues may not appreciate your work on cutting cost
or vice versa. So you must be wondering if I finally got the answer on success J . I don't know if I got my answer because the person in me who had asked the question disappeared and the question disappeared with him..
