Smoke and Mirrors

Somewhere underneath all this smoke there is a circle of chairs. I took this photo when we had a fire in our front fire pit. You can barely see the trees let alone the actual furniture. Amazing how an intangible thing like smoke can obscure everything. IT makse you lose sight of what’s there. 

When people are trying to impress or have little substance to present, you often hear the phrase smoke and mirrors. It is as if they think we can’t see through the smoke to what is really right in front of our faces. All too often that is true. We get sidetracked or persuaded by flash when in reality there is no there there. The bright shiny things, the exciting new stuff, the amazing idea or the impressive data all of which are exciting nad still may not really be anything. 

I remember sitting in an executive presentation where the COO was presenting to all of us as the leadership team. The CEO and CFO were behind me, and I heard them comment about how awful the COO was at presenting. He had no real point and they were not impressed by the flash. My heart sank for the guy presenting. I bet he never knew what they really thought, and I also guess they never told him. 

We  sit though so much smoke and mirrors that we never realize how jaded we have become. Or how insensitive we are in not telling people we see through it all. Are we not telling them because we think we are being kind? Are we not telling them because it is an uncomfortable topic? Are we not telling them because we don’t want the conflict? Or do we not tell them because we simply buy what they are selling and move on? Smoke and mirrors. 

I challenge you to see through the smoke and mirrors and tell those who are peddling it.