Everyone has a front, a facade, a face they put forward for the world to see. It’s how they want to be perceived by those around them. If the front differs from reality, reality will be discovered. This is particularly true with companies that have many customers who have a megaphone (i.e. the internet). You’ll hear a lot more of the truth than the marketing facade reveals.
People also carry around a facade. Where that front is based on truth, you find something whole, something trustworthy, something authentic. When that front is based on falsehood, it will be discovered eventually. Often times though, it’s difficult to penetrate the facade and discover what is real. This is especially true if it is someone that we only meet for a brief period of time.
Someone may carry themselves as though everything is always going perfectly for them. They give off the facade of uber-confidence and alway seem to know the right answer. If you meet this person, you might be tempted to believe them, but usually these people are some of the most insecure people out there — quickly wounded by the slightest remark contrary to their facade. It might appear that everything is going right for them, the truth is that it rarely is.
If we buy into the facade’s that people put before us, it can create false conceptions about how others experience life different from our own. The same is true with our competitors. Just because it looks like they are hiring and growing, doesn’t mean that they actually are. If you buy into the false facades of others, it can cause you to think less of your own business or person. In these situations, to perceive properly, you must see through the facade and understand that outside of very intimate relationships, you don’t see the whole picture.
Moreover, If we want to both understand and ultimately help those around us, we must endevour to see through their facade. We must truly seek to understand them prior to passing judgement or becoming deluded, as they are, with how they appear. This often requires simulating the reality around them to understand that things really aren’t perfect and know that what you see on stage may have little correlation to what happens when the curtain closes.
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