Bottom Line Communications™

TIME TO EXAMINE OUR BLIND SPOTS

By John Landsberg

KC Small Business, January 2009

   It’s an interesting story. And very revealing.
   The late, great cartoonist Thomas Nast, considered by many to be the “Father of the American Cartoon,” was at a party with close friends. 
   Someone asked him to draw a quick caricature of each person at the party.  He gladly obliged.
   Nast did the caricatures of the various guests and then passed around the sketches for everyone to look at.  It was all great fun with lots of laughter.
   But in the midst of the laughter something unexpected occurred.  While everyone recognized others instantly in the caricatures, at first glance few recognized themselves.
  It was very evident the guests did not necessarily see themselves as others saw them. What was clearly obvious to others was not so obvious to the individuals being caricatured.
   We all have blind spots when it comes to ourselves. Not only do we not see our failings and imperfections, but we often even fail to recognize our strengths.
    Did you ever come across someone who says, “I could never be in sales” when you were thinking “He would be perfect in sales!”  People often see traits in us we overlook or simply ignore.
   As we start 2009 this is an excellent time to examine our personal blind spots and some of those involving our businesses. If you are like me, there are more than enough to go around.
   As an example, I am a serial procrastinator. My motto is often “Why do it today when you can do it tomorrow…or maybe even the next day.”  (Note: This column was sent in late because I thought the editor probably had some leeway with the actual deadline. I may have guessed wrong…
   That procrastination philosophy used to work fine when I was in the newspaper business. Most reporters delighted in waiting until about 15 minutes before deadline to crank out a story.  Often there was no real reason for this last-minute crunch other than it seemed to give us some sort of weird adrenaline high.
   But procrastination is not a positive trait. Putting things off and then scrambling at the end often causes mistakes. Being late to meetings is a sign of disrespect to those who came on time.
   What are your personal blind spots? Do you prefer to stay in your comfort zone without trying new ways to grow?  Do you give out enough praise?  Do you carve out time to give back to the community? 
    In the New Year, why not make a resolution to step back and take the time to analyze your personal and business blind spots?  Are you doing the same things over and over again without any real rhyme or reason? Why exactly do you do some of the things you do?
   Do you mindlessly renew the same advertising plan you have used for years? Hand out the same promotional products? Attend the same trade shows?? Put up with the same performance issues?
   If someone tells you they do not have any personal or business blind spots they are lying. We all do. Some of us are willing to admit them. Some folks never will.
   The key is to examine our personal and business blind spots and develop a plan to conquer them. January is a great month to do it. Don’t procrastinate.