Remember the last time you showed someone from out of town around your city? You start seeing things through their eyes. You notice the little things – the state of the pavements, the state of the general population, the quality of the public transport system, the smells in the air...
We humans are good at taking things for granted – ignoring the things around us that don’t change much is a way to manage the stimuli we receive daily. This enables us to better see the large obvious dangers around the next corner.
This, however, does also mean we learn to not see the little signs that could point to a potential future problem. We don’t see the graffiti, the smashed windows, the people begging in street corners, or the insidious messages in the advertising around us. We are often so busy with our own immediate concerns we seldom stop, observe and think about where we are going.
The same situation exists in your business, or the organisation you work for. If you have been in business for more than a few years, and you think things are going smoothly, it may be worth inviting a stranger from outside your business to show them around the place. It will help you see what is great and what needs work.
