Mr. Ameer Ahamed

In the journey towards effectiveness as we discussed last week about "What's a Paradigm?" we need to analyze this in detail. A paradigm is a way you see something, your point of view, frame of reference or belief. As you may have noticed our paradigms are way off the mark and as a result we create limitations.

Let’s look at some very interesting statements.

The following is a list of statements made years ago by experts in their own fields. At the time they were said they sounded intelligent. With passing time , they sound not so as it proved to be very idiotic.
Top 10 All time stupid Quotes.

10. "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer at Home"
KENNETH OLSEN , PRESIDENT & FOUNDER OF DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION -1977
9. "Airplanes are interesting Toys but of no military value"
MARSHAL FERDINAND FOCH , FRENCH MILITARY STRATEGIST AND FUTURE WORLD WAR ONE COMMANDER -1911
8."[Man will never reach the moon] regardless of all future scientific advances."
Dr. LEE DE FOREST, INVENTOR OF THE AUDION TUBE AND FATHER OF RADIO ON February 25, 1967.
7. "WE don't like their sound. Groups of Guitars are on the way out"
DECCA RECORSD REJECTING THE BEATLES IN 1962
6."For the Majority of the people , the use of tobacco has a beneficial effect"
DR. IAN G. MACDONALD, LOS ANGELES SURGON AS QOUTED IN NEWSWEEK - NOVEMBER 18, 1969.
5. "This 'Telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value".
WESTERN UNION INTERNAL MEMO - 1876
4. "Television won’t be able to hold to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night".
DRRYL F. ZANUCK , HEAD OF 20TH CENTURY FOX - 1946
3. "The earth is the centre of the Universe"
PTOLEMY , THE GREAT EGYPTIAN ASTRONOMER, IN THE SECOND CENTURY.
2. " Nothing of importance happened today"
WRITTEN BY KING GEORGE III - 4July 1776 [AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY]
1. "Everything that can be invented has been invented"
CHARLES H. DUELL, US COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS - 1899

Having read these statements I am sure you must be thinking that people of this nature has made these statements, some time now it looks like a stupid statement. Why they did so was they were operating from their own paradigms or their own frame of reference. Which is proved wrong later on…
This can happen to us as well. When we get conditioned with something very strong we live our life with that without opening out and questioning that. It can be flat out wrong but our conditioning becomes so string that we do not want to see the other side of the picture.

This is why it is so important to constantly question our paradigms and be open minded, listen to others, and challenge your own conditioning. Paradigms can make you Effective or Ineffective?
If Any wants to be Highly Effective you need to work on your paradigms on a continuous basis.
The writer Mr. Ameer Ahamed is the CEO (Sri Lanka, Maldives & Bangl.) for Franklin Covey South Asia. Master Trainer for 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Process & Leadership.