lessons in perception and the undiscovered
It started as a banana. Ordinary, yellow, and taped to a wall. But somehow, it sold for $6.2 million.
It wasn’t the banana or the duct tape that held value. It was the way people looked at it. Maurizio Cattelan, the artist behind the piece titled Comedian, framed the fruit as more than it seemed. And suddenly, everyone saw it differently.
This isn’t just an art story. It’s a lesson in perception, leadership, and the power of seeing what others don’t.
leadership is about what you notice
Leadership starts with observation. You can look at the same situation as everyone else and see something entirely different. That’s what separates leaders from followers.
Cattelan didn’t reinvent the banana. He just looked at it differently. The same applies to teams, ideas, and opportunities. What might seem ordinary—a quiet employee, a forgotten project, an overlooked market—could become extraordinary when reframed.
the undiscovered potential
We’re surrounded by untapped potential. It might be hidden in the people you work with. It might be buried in processes you take for granted. Leaders uncover what’s waiting beneath the surface.
Think about someone on your team who flies under the radar. They might not be the loudest or most visible, but they could hold a perspective no one else sees. A good leader brings those voices to the forefront.
changing the frame
The banana became art because someone decided it could be. Cattelan didn’t change the banana—he changed the frame around it. That’s the real lesson.
How often do we accept things as they are, without asking what they could be? In leadership, your job is to shift the frame. You might see a struggling department and reframe it as a group with potential to innovate. You might see a product with average sales and reimagine it as a solution for a new market.
the power of curiosity
Cattelan’s banana wasn’t just about art. It was a challenge to how we think. It asked, “What makes something valuable?” That same curiosity is essential in leadership.
Ask yourself: What am I missing? What potential haven’t I tapped into? What assumptions should I challenge? Curiosity helps leaders move beyond the obvious and uncover the extraordinary.
Today, I sat in a café. Someone at the next table peeled a banana and ate it. It was such a normal moment. But I couldn’t stop thinking about Comedian, the $6.2 million banana.
It reminded me that perception is everything. The ordinary only stays ordinary if we let it. As leaders, our job is to see differently, to uncover the hidden, and to change the way others see.
Image Credit: daria nepriakhina
