The first person to notice a problem isn’t a complainer if they also bring a flashlight.
REFLECTION
WHAT THIS MEANS
Pointing at a problem is useful and unpopular, and the distance between a complainer and somebody helpful is usually whatever they bring along with the news. Arriving with the fault plus a rough idea of a fix turns you from a cost into a resource, and it is often the only reason a real problem gets taken seriously at all. Noticing early is worth having rather than hiding.
Next time you spot something going wrong on a shift or a team, say it with one suggestion attached. A partial fix still counts. Say it to whoever can act on it rather than to everybody else.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
What problem could you raise with a suggestion attached to it?
MORE IN PERCEPTION & ATTENTION
- Artists pay attention to the empty space around a shape. What’s missing tells you a lot.
- Scouts watch what a player does when the ball is on the other side of the field. Character lives off camera.
- The North Star isn’t the brightest one up there. It’s the one that barely moves. Be useful, not flashy.
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.