The Shoe Story - It's All About Perspective

Quite a few years ago, a major American shoe manufacturer sent two salesmen to Africa to investigate market potential and report back their findings.

The first salesman reported back, "There is no potential market here...no one wears shoes."

The second salesman reported back, "There is incredible marketing potential here...no one wears shoes!"

This simple story shows how the same situation can be viewed very differently, positively or negatively.  We could explain this also in terms of seeing a situation's problems and disadvantages, instead of its opportunities and benefits.