Most of our leadership tips and insights come from our experiences running a biz, and seeing life's lessons play out in everyday life. On a recent Saturday, Tanner, running back for a D1 high school football ran for 205 yards in a rain soaked playoff game. Tom and Peg, his mom and dad were...well let's just say beyond joy and pride...and buoyed by thunderous crowd cheers.
There was something magical how he racked up the 205 yards.
...Tanner's a great kid, but with all the football gear, he looked like any one of the other kids. After the 3rd or 4thrunning attempt, I felt something very special about Tanners performance.
...I don't know that he was any bigger, stronger or faster, but nearly every time he clutched the ball, with alert eyes forward, he sliced through the line of defenders, almost magically planting his next step in the right spot... just out of the defenders reach.
His field of vision...sorting and finding the open spot, moving as if guided by hi tech computers...left defenders quaking in his wake. He was focused, humble, yet fiercely determined with the end zone always in his sights.
Our field of vision...or ability to "sort out the noise"...is part intelligence and part gut.
Try out these field of vision questions...
- Can you sense the heartbeat of all the noise going on in your economy? Are you usually spot on? Are you "taking in" and adjusting your next steps, just in time, to keep moving?
- Do you know how your customers "feel" about working with you?
- Try this...write down 5 names of your top clients...and intuitively, draw how they feel. Use the little circular faces {smiley, angry, frustrated} for each of those top 5. If you're especially courageous...do the same for 5 key prospects you crave.
- Can you sense the top 5 gaps...missing pieces...which are stopping your biz from getting to the "end zone."?
If any of these aren't clear, maybe it's time to ramp up your "field of vision." In biz, that's sorting out the noise, staying focused on the most important, and adjusting your steps to keep moving forward.