Power of perspective

Two shoe salesmen were sent to a remote village to assess the market. The first returned, visibly deflated. "Hopeless! No one wears shoes there," he said. The second came back beaming, saying, "Amazing! No one wears shoes there!" Same village, same people, same situation, different perspectives. One saw zero demand, the other saw untapped potential.

This age-old tale is more than a sales anecdote; it's a mirror. In life and work, we all walk into villages of uncertainty. Some of us panic because the floor is bare, others see a market begging for footwear.

In Bangladesh, we have seen people build million-taka ventures out of things most wouldn't give a second glance. One guy sells tea in clay cups with Wi-Fi and calls it "Chaaterpreneurship". Another man leaves a corporate job to grow strawberries in Srimantapur and becomes a YouTube star. Meanwhile, their university batchmates complain that "nothing works in this country". There is no point in staying here, so let's view migration as an opportunity. No points for guessing whose village was full of barefoot people, and who saw it as an opportunity.

Perspective, it turns out, is not just feel-good philosophy; it's measurable. A Harvard Business Review study found that people with a "growth mindset" are 34 percent more likely to succeed in leadership roles. Meanwhile, McKinsey research shows that companies that frame challenges as innovation opportunities outperform their peers by over 25 percent in revenue growth.

In our own corporate corridors, I have witnessed this firsthand. Two brand managers were handed the same struggling product. One wrote a report on why it should be discontinued. The other redesigned the packaging, ran a social campaign, and made it a Gen-Z trend. The product stayed. The second guy got promoted. And the first one? He is now giving unsolicited advice on LinkedIn.

Even in personal life, perspective changes everything. Is your teenager spending "too much time on the phone"? Or are they learning video editing and planning a digital agency? As a father, I can confirm: the first assumption gives you grey hair, the second gives you hope!

We often treat "perspective" as a soft skill, but it is actually a strategic advantage. Think of it as the lens through which you interpret reality. A foggy lens distorts opportunities into threats. A clear one sees both risk and reward, and chooses action over complaint.

Perspective can be trained. Read widely. Hang out with problem-solvers, not problem-reporters. Learn from failure without inviting it to dinner every night. And please, before saying "ekhane kichu hobe na" (nothing works here), ask yourself if you are the first salesman or the second.

In Bangladesh, streamlining perspective starts with reframing problems as possibilities. For instance, where some see traffic congestion, Pathao saw a logistics revolution. Where others saw rural illiteracy, 10 Minute School saw a digital learning opportunity. Corporates must foster this mindset by rewarding innovation, not just compliance.

In personal life, parents can encourage kids to explore unconventional careers instead of forcing the "doctor-engineer" track. Whether in boardrooms or tea stalls, shifting the conversation from "ki hobey?" (what will happen) to "ki korte pari?" (what can we do) can unlock growth. It's about training the eye to see the shoeless feet not as a failure, but as a frontier.

In a world full of villages with barefoot people, somewhere between Gulshan boardrooms and Srimantapur rice fields, the ones who see possibilities are the ones who win. So, next time someone says "eta possible na" (it's not possible) smile politely and check your shoes. You might be in a market no one else has noticed yet.

The writer is the president of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh and founder of BuildCon Consultancies Ltd