Searching for what you really want

There was a very, very tall coconut tree and four animals:

a Lion

a Chimpanzee

a Giraffe

a Squirrel 

They decide to compete to see who is the fastest to get a banana off of the tree.

Who do you think won?

Your answer will reflect your personality.

So think carefully.  Try and answer within 30 seconds.

Got your answer?

Now scroll down to see the analysis.

If your answer is:

Lion = you're wrong
Chimpanzee = you're wrong.
Giraffe = you're wrong.
Squirrel  = you're wrong.

Because, of course, a coconut tree doesn’t grow bananas!

This is a great example of us seeing what we expect to see, or anticipating an outcome which we expect, but which was never going to happen.

In the UK, it’s often said that the High Street in every town now looks the same – same shops, same signs, same people in many cases. This is true but not if you look up. Look at the architecture of the buildings, look at the rooflines. There are some wonderful old buildings around in our High Streets and we never take the time to notice.

Or we look where we usually look. We look where we expect to find the answer.  When you’re working, how often do you look for the unexpected? How often do you walk a different path? If you work for a large organisation, or have done in the past, I bet you park in the same parking spot every day! 

So take a lesson from the Coconut tree and don’t try to find bananas growing on it. Don’t assume that you’re going to see or hear something before it happens. 

Don’t anticipate a negative response to a sales question because that’s what usually happens – prepare for a positive response. The tone of your voice will change and that alone may subconsciously direct your prospective customer to agree with you.  

Try it, you might go bananas!

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