In a dynamic world with many unanticipated issues striking us as professionals and our business, quick assessment, analytics and decision-making are critical for surviving and thriving.
Being proactive is the way to stay ahead and stand out from the rest. But what is the key to being proactive? The answer is becoming a powerful observer. By observing how we and other people do things, we will spot opportunities for improvements.
The more we observe, the more opportunities we will find. We can then work to provide solutions for some of the problems. By becoming good observers, we will recognise problems before people do and have a first-mover advantage – certainly before your competition does.
Good leaders are always good observers which helps to provide the right direction to the team. Personally for you, the ability to become a powerful observer of yourself and your behavior is a vital step in changing your behavior and emotional reactions to a more sensible solution.
Sometimes, we are so accustomed to doing things in a certain way that we can no longer see it as inconvenient. In that case, it is up to your imagination to spot opportunities for improvement. There are many things which look ordinary on the surface but have some hidden opportunities behind them.
When you open your eyes to observe even the seemingly normal things you uncover things you would have otherwise not seen. Observe how you and other people do routines, and discover the details you overlooked before. This can move the needle for you for improved contribution by having more comprehensive solutions to issues.
New ideas
You can get ideas for improvement not only by observing how people work, but also by observing how your competitors work. Is there something they do well that you can learn from? If yes, then don’t hesitate to take the idea and implement it.
To get a broader perspective of a problem, you should go to different places and observe how different people do things. By observing people from different backgrounds in different situations, you will see different dimensions of the problem. This way you will come up with better, more complete solutions.
When observation offers you new ideas, to avoid losing such ideas you get, you should capture and record them as soon as possible. Otherwise it’s very likely that the ideas will disappear and will never come back. Missed opportunities can be too costly for you given the level of cut throat competition experienced in the super-fast world today
Collect and compare
By having one central place to collect all the problems you find, you can easily compare one problem to another to find which one is more potential. If you want to, you can also classify the problems to make them easier to browse.
Every now and then, you should review your master list of problems to see all the opportunities you have. After reviewing the list, you can take one or two problems to work with.
The best problems to take are those which are both painful and solvable. Eventually, you can take action based on the problem you choose to provide a solution. By becoming a good observer, you will have a head start in coming up with a solution.
With sharp observation skills, you gain a deeper understanding of what is driving you and your business and what you are responding to. With this clarity you’ll find expansion and space. When you become the observer you increase your understanding of your reactions and eventually you will no longer be at the mercy of old emotional injuries, other people, or your own frustration.
The more you observe yourself without judgment the more self-knowledge you possess. After you understand why you respond a certain way, you are now in a position to make a different choice. I find that if you can exercise this ability, it will lead to some of the most important information that you will learn about why you are the way you are and how you are being in the world. This knowledge creates the choice to change what you don’t like.
Becoming an observer also puts you in a position where you can look at your part, in everything. When you become mindful, you can see clearly that no matter what anyone else has done, how you respond is about you. You no longer go immediately to blame because you understand your part.
