All perceptions are real, at least to those who own them.

Quote of the Week 28

"All perceptions are real, at least to those who own them."
― Joe Folkman

Related quotes:

"In politics, perception is reality."
― Lee Atwater

"Perception is reality. If you are perceived to be something, you might as well be it because that’s the truth in people’s minds."
― Steve Young

"Perception is reality, but it may not be actuality, and you have got to be able to keep the difference between that."
― Bill Cowher


Triggered by Ron Lichty's use of the quote in many of his presentations and the book "Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams" citing Folkman's 1996 book "Turning Feedback into Change!".

See also Principle 5 in Folkman's subsequent book "The Power of Feedback".