Perspective is trust in action

As my nib strikes the page, I notice the significant difference in weight of the ink. Each word boldly stands on the page in stark contrast to the faded scratch of a dry well’s efforts. 

This before and after observation inspires the consideration of a myriad of metaphors themed around the value of “recharging.”

When someone is tired, they need to sleep. When a phone is dead, it needs to be recharged. When a pen runs out of ink, it needs to be refilled. But what happens when you refill your pen, or charge your phone one day and it continues to write or operate poorly? Do you blame the ink, converter, or nib? The cord, the outlet or charging brick?

Pulling on this thread, when something isn’t working after going through the steps to troubleshoot, escalation is the primary objective. In this case, the pen is not only dry; It may also need to be cleaned.

Unscrewing the housing of your pen reveals a converter concealed to the operator except for refilling. Your hand meticulously and purposefully dismembers the pen into its components. As you drop your nib, converter and grip into water, strings of black crawl out like snakes awakened after a winters thaw. 

The malfunction of your pen is not from lack of care - it stems from a lack of perspective. 

As their car rattles over a small divot in the road, it is clear that Sam’s car is not operating as it should. Are their mind races through hypothetical repair scenarios, Sam’s dashboard rings and bongs indications of internal disarray. “This car was taken in just last week and it seems nearly worse than before I took it in.”

Sam’s consistent maintenance schedule of their VW Jetta has helped the red station wagon surpass 230,000 miles with grace. The question at large: what happens when they do everything they’re told to do and still continue to face persistent problems?

In escalation, Sam’s mechanic rifles through catalogues of Diesel engine repair guides. Instead of understanding the problem, this action takes aims to understand the platform in order to diagnose ailments of the engine system.

Unlike the mechanics before him, Sam’s mechanic detached. By making himself aware of his environment and removing himself from the clutches of the initial problem - in this case, lights on the dash - he was able to spot solutions others could not. According to the Universal Technical Institute of Illinois, “Oftentimes, blocked diesel particulate filters are caused by short journeys at low speeds.” 

After taking swift action to clean this filter, the vehicle sprung back to life. Sam’s drives the car back from the repair shop, saying, “This car drives like a dream now.” 

Just like ink building up in the well or nib of a pen, the engine of diesel car builds up particulate over time. Two completely separate and unique systems in and of themselves share the same common maintenance error: Perspective.

Perspective - finding a new angle, taking on the problem from a different direction, viewing a scene in new light - solves problems pure hard work cannot. Even the most disciplined maintenance fails to correct some problems. When assessing routine challenges, one must ensure they from time to time detach from the problem and observe it from a new angle. 

One person can run maintenance procedures at a minimal rate of error. Jocko Willink in Leadership, Strategies, and Tactics, brings to light how procedure is verified by a team or network solution. When you are working down and in on the problem, a team needs to support your efforts by detaching from your challenge and develop new angles of approach when yours does not see success. 

There will come a time when you face an internal conversation - "I can’t get this task done today," or "I am falling behind." These statements signal your system is ineffective. Be your own team member; begin to look at your problems outside of the problem. Peter Drucker states in The Effective Executive, The effective decision maker always assumes initially that the problem is generic.

Look at your challenges not as “I can’t do something.” but instead as “my current system cannot withstand the bandwidth of my challenges.” With this perspective in mind, we can approach new challenges with new strategies rather than new tactics. 

Drucker goes on to say, “The generic always has to be answered through a rule, a principle.”

A principle is a proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of behavior. When you cannot solve the challenge that faces you, use trust as principle. Trust yourself to to solve what you face; trust your team to support you appropriately. Apply this trust to your solution. If we cannot solve our problem, then we must look even more generically and refine our strategy.

Trust creates strong teams. Strong teams are a system which create strong leaders.

Diagnose, resolve, repair; Write, drive, lead.