Running is one of my interests and favorite forms of exercise. It also enables me to pursue one of my other interests: Eating. I am a small-time runner, averaging 10-12 miles per week. I find running to be an opportunity to learn and think as I have a collection of podcasts loaded on my iPod that accompany me on morning runs. My run last Saturday morning was a learning moment in another way. The 3.5 mile route I planned to take in my neighborhood was one that I had run more than 100 times in the past five years. Perhaps the frequency of running this particular route was one reason I was not all that excited about running it that morning.
A Change of Perspective
Then, the idea hit me to run the route in reverse (not running backwards but running the route backwards). The routine of the run called for going a prescribed route, but on this morning rather than turning right off my street, I turned left and had a new experience on an old route. I caught myself more than once during the run with a smile on my face, marveling at the different view I was enjoying merely by running in a different direction on the same roads that I always run. It reminded me of a suggestion made by an executive at Tom’s Foods during my time in the direct sales delivery business. He said that during his days driving a route truck he would occasionally run his daily route in reverse order. Doing so would be a way of dealing with monotony and gave him a different perspective on his route and customer accounts.
How You Can Change Direction
What can I share with you about my decision to turn left instead of right and change my running route? It gave me a new perspective on my surroundings even though I felt like I knew them already. As marketers, we can take a similar approach and “cross the street” to take a look at our business from the other side. Here are two ways to change your perspective:
- Act like a customer– When is the last time you stood in your customers’ shoes and looked at what it is like to do business with your company from their standpoint? If your organization is large enough, perhaps you can actually be a “mystery shopper” and put yourself in buying situations. Similarly, take on the perspective of a customer and attempt to shop your website. What is the experience like? I did this recently, taking on the perspective of a graduate student evaluating MBA programs. In addition to looking at websites of other universities, I went to the website at my university that houses information on the MBA program. I was dismayed by the poor organization of information and overall lousy user experience. Although design of the website is beyond my authority, I had a conversation with the administrator who is responsible for it. He agreed that it made for a bad user experience, and being new to the position he was making it a priority to make navigation of the site more user-friendly.
- Act like an employee– I enjoy watching the TV show “Undercover Boss.” In each episode, the company executive that goes undercover as a front-line employee is amazed and often dismayed by observations made about company culture, policies, and procedures. The revelations come about not because of what the boss sees is new; they come about because their perspective changed. In addition to spending time gaining perspective from the trenches, consider how prospective employees perceive your company. Is it an open, inviting environment? Or, would a candidate get a vibe your company is more like a club or clique into which one is granted admission by other employees?
Embrace the View from the Other Side
Crossing the street and looking at your business from a different perspective entails some risk- you may not like what you see once you get there. But, if you aspire for improvement and growth (and I don’t know of any business that has the mindset “we are fine just as we are”), one way to make it happen is to change your perspective occasionally. Zig Ziglar said “If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you will keep getting what you’ve been getting.” If you are a leader, commit to changing your perspective by looking at your organization from the perspective of others. As for my running routes, I plan to practice what I am preaching here and change my perspective more frequently from now on.
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