We often work in dim light. There are questions to every problem we are working on for which we don’t yet have clarity. Sometimes important questions. And sometimes the problems themselves are important.
You may be finalizing a direct mail piece. How many segments of that solicitation should you employ to get the highest return on investment without diminishing returns?
You may be creating a campaign case statement. Which cover photo will be experienced as most compelling and will invite more readers to want to learn more?
You may be rearing a teenager. Should you let your teen go with her friends to a pool party given the COVID-19 pandemic?
Yes, we can study. We can research. We can analyze. We can listen to experts. We can use as a guide our own experiences. And we should use all of those methods to address and respond to the problems we are working through. But our working light can still be dim.
What helps us the most to begin the process of shining a brighter light on any problem is to, first, embrace the fact that we are, in fact, using a dim light. To recognize that our perspective isn’t the only one. And to know we aren’t seeing the whole picture of the problem.
When we humbly allow ourselves to be open to the possibility that what we believe we know may be incomplete at best and, at worst, completely wrong, we usher in the opportunity for a brighter light to help us see.