Big Picture – Vigilance Required

Have you got caught running down a familiar path only to find that, this time, the path was not leading you to the right destination? It is so easy to find yourself in these circumstances letting familiarity cloud your thoughts and hinder your view of the entire map so you can see that you are navigating to the right destination.

I have seen this in responding to customer inquiries. There were times that the Number One Client asked the Contracting Company for a cost benefit analysis for a new idea in the current project. The Contracting Company leaders responded, delivering a cost benefit analysis for that specific new idea. In going through the routine steps they never stopped to look at the big picture, at least see how the new idea fit in the end-to-end project lifecycle and evaluate if the new idea be in-line with the final outcome objective. Rather, they evaluated the new idea for a point in time and how it impacts just the surrounding tasks. So many times following this style the Number One Client would get frustrated when, acting on the Contracting Company’s recommendation, to find that it has moved the project slightly off target.

It is so easy to fall into this trap. There are many forces pushing towards the “right here and now” answer – time, demand, over-worked load, expectations, lack of clear priorities. To combat these forces we must be constantly vigilant of this situation. If you find yourself doing things without thinking, pause and ask yourself if the actions you are about to take are aligned with the big picture. If you are unsure, further investigation is warranted and absolutely necessary. Making a minor course correction now will lead to happy customers down the road when you have reached the planned final destination.