Today Colin accused me of seeing South Africa's current economic climate through rose tinted lenses too. This is in spite of The Economist's interesting focus on Africa Rising in the latest edition. With consistent growth, and not all of it from oil, there are legitimate reasons to have hope about Africa's emergence. On this trip I have been constantly amazed by the strength of vision in the creative arts and business. Perhaps I have been offered a rose tinted tour and to see the best version of events. I keep being reminded by 'in the know' tourists and locals alike that corruption will spoil the party. Somehow I think they forget that corruption is endemic in all societies. Isn't that what OWS is all about?
The rose tinted sunglasses have however shown me just how useful it can be to use an unusual lens when viewing the landscape. By increasing the contrast between green and brown I am able to see all kinds of little plants and fresh growth, ordinarily obscured by the glare of the desert sun. The Kalahari literally comes alive. My memories and experiences of the landscape are just as valid as the ones I would have had without this filter, just far more emotional, rich and colorful.We often think of people with rose tinted lenses as naive or not in touch with reality. Perhaps we should pay more attention to their ability to spot opportunity that others can't see. In nature different animals use different parts of the light spectrum to identify exactly when their favorite food is just ripe. Applied at the right moment, corporate optical shift can show new routes through the undergrowth. A photoshop filter for excel, to reveal buds and blossoms hiding in plain sight. A redirection of the management might spectrum could create just enough refraction to reveal otherwise invisible ideas.
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