I think in pictures. I need to visualize and experience a problem if I’m going to help find a solution. I usually draw my ideas before I write about them. So, when someone presents me a report, I look for graphs, charts, maps, and diagrams. But those reports are just the tip of the iceberg. If I really want to know how one of our teams is doing, I need to see them work, talk to them, I need to “feel” their pains and build a picture for myself. I need to adopt their perspective.
Lately Jay and I have been asking ourselves how we can get better. Are we still Weapons Grade? Is the client-facing output still reflecting our core values? One of the strangest challenges of owning a business and being a ‘boss’ is getting people to share all the news, even the bad stuff. It’s tough, nobody likes delivering bad news, especially to the boss. Sometimes you get the ‘sanitized’ version of a story, or maybe a report omits certain unfavorable facts. I don’t want any more (or better) reports, gadgets or KPIs – our systems are nearly perfect when it comes to the quantitative stuff. I need a picture of the stuff that isn’t in the reports. And so do you. The trick is how to get it.
Albert Einstein famously said that you cannot solve a problem with the same kind of thinking that created it. The idea is that genuine insight comes when you adopt a different perspective on the questions you face.
I would love to experience a day in the life of a new team member. Hmmmm ….
