One of the great debates particularly when my kids were young, was whether you could or should use a carrot or a stick to encourage them to “do better”. I was always in the carrot camp, but my wife was always in the perfectionist (stick) camp. She felt that it was better to “say it as it is”, although there was always a discussion about what standard that had to meet and what “perfection” might be.
We often think we know what the problem or challenge is that we want to find a solution to. However, the reality is that, whilst we may be right, we may also be wrong. There is always a different way to view a challenge. A different perspective can, and often does, lead to a different solution.
THERE ARE ONLY 2 THINGS YOU CAN REALLY CONTROL, AND THAT’S ATTITUDE AND EFFORT. HOW YOU APPLY BOTH, PRODUCTIVELY, WILL DETERMINE THE SUCCESS, THE QUALITY AND THE QUANTITY OF THE IDEAS YOU COME UP TO SOLUTIONS PROBLEMS.
In the 1980s crime in New York City had reached almost epidemic proportions. Apparently, New York was suffering by increased immigration and as a result a much younger population and, added to that, New Yorkers were hit hard by welfare cuts. It wasn’t safe to travel the subway and you would be advised not to go to certain areas, particularly after dark. Yet, by the end of the 1990s the city had cleaned up its act and saw a dramatic fall in the rate of crime.
