Binoculars are a liminal object to me. Most binoculars I have encountered are safely positioned in a case or sitting static on a shelf; they are more accessory than instrument. But, when required, they can transform quickly. Is that a wildfire on the ridge? Is there a vessel at sea requiring assistance? Is that an Ivory-Billed Woodpecker? Did my favorite musical artist playing in a mega stadium change into a new costume? Who walked into the building at the far end of the property?
Using them constantly makes the world myopic, and our sense of scale is unrealistic. By deploying them randomly, we spin the wheel of serendipity, hoping a worthwhile subject will appear. Treating them as a resource can enhance our culture of curiosity and provide confirmation of our interest or render the subject matter a lower priority.
What are the binoculars of your enterprise? What can your team leverage at key moments to make sense of the territory ahead?
I support ‘Save Klister Tubes From Extinction’ (a fictitious organization), the best social sector cause anywhere. The program production quality is better than the most viewed TED Talks. The staff is entrepreneurial, sophisticated, and customer-facing, continually granting my requests. The team leverages my donations using a 1 to 10 matching program, so my $100 contributions are now $1,000. Our office is donated by the city’s largest private equity company, and the enterprise received a bequest from a prominent social activist, which is being used in full to fund all operating costs for the next three years. As a board member, my time is exceptionally valued. Every meeting is professionally scripted and run, there are no lulls in conversations, all votes are unanimous, and the mesmerizingstaff reports are uploaded as video presentations to the board portal. The board meets quarterly in the nicest corporate conference room in town, with a catered lunch personally prepared by a rotation of award-winning chefs. Our volunteer program has a waiting list, with prospective volunteers placing their names on the list before moving to the region. Our impact metrics are remarkable; 100% of all individuals served achieve the highest outcomes and report their personal life satisfaction scores increasing 10-fold within one year of completing our program.
Fake reviews traditionally have two extremes: the one-star, everything went wrong template or the five-star, this thing changed my life version.
What realistic review does your organization aspire to attain? As an icebreaker exercise, ask your team to compose authentic future reviews of your organization from a stakeholder’s perspective.
How close is your enterprise to realizing that inspirational review today? What resources and priorities are required to bridge the delta between the present and the future? What would change if your cause achieved this level of engagement and satisfaction?
Has a fresh start completely changed your mindset and the outcomes surrounding your actions? Head out on a bike ride with a rear tire that shows signs of significant wear, and we get a flat tire immediately; it can feel deflating (pun intended). Returning to the starting point, we change the tire and tube to place the wheel back in functional condition. We head off with greater certainty that our ride will be free from mechanical failures. Our mindset can focus on the activity of riding instead of the fifty-fifty chance our tire will not survive the ride.
Fresh starts are magical; they do not take up a lot of energy to alter our mindset. How might we use a new calendar year to reset our patterns, assumptions, and behaviors? What might we focus on when we remove some of the most prominent distractions?
What tendencies appear when we are tired. As an endurance athlete, tripping or forgetting to take in fuel is more common later in an event than when we are fresh. As board members, we can be less precise in our deliberations when making decisions at the end of a long meeting. When is your team’s peak performance phase? If possible, schedule the hard part when there is a likelihood of higher engagement and better outcomes.
What is your enterprise’s tipping point when throwing a celebration? What is required for your organization to commit to assessments? What is the ratio of evaluations versus celebrations? Are celebrations as rare as leap years, or does your cause set a realistic cadence to balance milestones and pitfalls?
If invited to list the six most essential attributes of a leader that would bring out your best, what characteristics would go on the list? If we produce an authentic help wanted sign, we might attract exemplary candidates.
If our strategy is too complex to execute, it will likely falter. If we supply an unmistakable path forward and clarity about the intended horizon line, our work can focus on the journey. Otherwise, we might spend substantial resources navigating endless sand dunes, looking for a place to set sail.
I tried to unsubscribe from a vendor’s emails, but none of my attempts were accepted. I called the company and was told updates could only be conducted online. The organization claims the issue I am experiencing is abnormal. The new splash page message should read, “We care more about our company’s subscriber numbers than a client’s preference. Therefore, we failed to honor any updates to your account that will impact our metrics.“
Honesty would be less frustrating than non-compliance.
How might we be honest with our clients, even if the truth is not the message they prefer to hear?
What-if-concepts 