Life is not only about understanding who we are, but who we want to be. Part of this journey requires an understanding of our surroundings – having the ability to see ourselves in the third person. In my early teens I decided that I wanted to see myself as others saw me. I didn’t want to live a life of illusion.
I found this useful in my career because I was often interfacing with various cultures, religions, and ethnic backgrounds. It was important to know how they perceived me even before entering their premises. Did they see me as a Canadian or a North “American”? Did they see me as an experienced business person or naïve? Weak or strong? Useful or useless? Regardless of our starting point, I was aware that respect was earned with time. It was less important what I said and more important what I did. Actions spoke louder than words. I needed to ensure that I never contradicted what I agreed to in a meeting. I was very sensitive to not overstep my authority. I needed to keep my promises.
My entire career was focused on delivery. Unfortunately, that was not good enough in all cases. Early in my career, I was relocated to another country and promoted to a prominent marketing role. In my first year, I prepared a complete business plan for what the marketing team was going to deliver that following year. It was a grand collective effort, because none of my predecessors had done that before. But my excitement was short-lived. After presenting the plan to management the response was lukewarm, “That’s nice, but what else are you going to do?” was their response. This came as a complete shock. I essentially maxed out the resources of the team in the delivery of a plan that wasn’t good enough. Through that process, I learned an important lesson; Firstly, I realized that I should have created many buffers to account for several external forces that would push and pull the plan throughout the year. I knew the plan was going to be organic, and I had anticipated financial and human resource obstacles, but it was far short of what was expected; Secondly, the transparency of a 12-month plan was a bad approach for this organization. It set the team up for adversarial scrutiny. Marketing and Sales were at war and revealing all of my cards only led to further conflict. Even loyalty in my own department was non existent. Nevertheless, it was a learning experience in understanding my peers and I’m glad I went through it. Hindsight is 20/20 and in a different organization, things may have turned out differently.
When you know who you are, negative forces can’t touch you.
Respect was often gained when I showed knowledge of my craft. But the biggest respect came when I had the confidence to reveal my limitations. Exposing what I didn’t know. Business meetings are often like a poker game. You don’t reveal too much. Only show the cards that are necessary. This is deliberate from the perspective of a sales pitch but less understood from the subconscious need to hide insecurity. The unexpected exposure to knowledge limitations would come as a shock because few in an audience would have the confidence to show that level of vulnerability. By revealing my boundaries, I was saying, “My knowledge had limits, but I’ll make an effort to find you the correct answer”. I found this approach extremely rare throughout my career.
Dusil Photography captures exquisite moments with models who dare to be vulnerable and enter the world of sensuality. I’ve been blessed with the freedom to explore their deepest emotions. Whether it’s alluring curves or a seductive gaze, each photograph tells her story. My portfolio reflects a seamless fusion of feminine beauty and compassion.
