By never backing up into the unknown, you can minimize the danger from blind spots and stay on your route to success.
Norm LeMay and Steven Kaufman
Ask any driver for a list of safety concerns and you鈥檒l likely see 鈥渂lind spots鈥� at the top. A blind spot is an area where the view is obstructed, and that鈥檚 what makes them so dangerous. Just because you can鈥檛 see something doesn鈥檛 mean it isn鈥檛 there.
We all want to believe that we look at life through clear, unbiased eyes. However, just like every one of us creates garbage, so too do we all have blind spots: places where we don鈥檛 see what鈥檚 really going on. These blind spots can be dangerous and cause havoc if we鈥檙e not careful. By taking cues from the garbageman and putting some safety procedures in place, we can help reduce the danger these blind spots pose and stay out of harm鈥檚 way.
What are Blind Spots?
Blind spots can show up in three areas: our own personality, our relationships with people and the places where we work. We see them when fear or pride blinds our potential and blocks our ability to see new ways of doing things. They are areas of weakness; places where we think or act a certain way but in reality, we鈥檙e being perceived completely differently.
We don鈥檛 say, 鈥淥h, I know I have a blind spot.鈥� For the most part, we鈥檙e unaware of what鈥檚 happening, which is why working with blind spots can be tough. They involve thoughts we don鈥檛 realize we have and actions we don鈥檛 realize we take. What鈥檚 more, blind spots can be very obvious to everyone else but us. This mismatch of our perception to the world鈥檚 reality is what makes blind spots the landmines that they are.
The garbage that makes up our blind spots is especially tough to dump. Getting rid of it could really shake up our world in ways we don鈥檛 want. Additionally, like the driver who鈥檚 vision is limited by his location, the time of day, and what he鈥檚 doing, new blind spots can appear depending on what place we are in at any moment in our lives. This creates something of a moving target.
How many times have we said, 鈥淲ow, I almost said something dumb鈥� or 鈥淭hank goodness I didn鈥檛 follow through on that idea鈥�? Those are close calls鈥攖he times when, for a split second, we become conscious of something in our blind spot and we slam on the mental brakes. Unless we鈥檙e aware of what we鈥檙e doing, we run the risk of more close calls鈥攁nd the chance that we could cause a real wreck (see Figure 1).
Where Do Blind Spots Come From?
Trucks don鈥檛 have just one blind spot. There are several all around the vehicle. The same holds true for us. There are many types of blind spots that show up in our minds, in our relationships, and in our offices.
- The mind鈥檚 need for closure. Our brain doesn鈥檛 like inconsistency or open-endedness. It wants facts to line up with beliefs. If we think people can鈥檛 be trusted, we鈥檒l look for reasons why people can鈥檛 be trusted. Any information that runs counter to that is labeled as an 鈥渆xception.鈥� This is known as confirmation bias, the tendency of the mind to bias information to fit our thoughts and views. Warren Buffet has a great quote on this: 鈥淲hat the human being is best at doing, is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact.鈥�
- Habit/Reflex. We get so used to reacting or doing things a certain way that we gradually become blind to alternatives and new possibilities.
- Denial. Sometimes, shining a light on our behavior would have us see what might be too painful or uncomfortable to confront. In cases like this, we unknowingly turn a blind eye and keep ourselves in the dark.
- Fear. Change can be very challenging. It鈥檚 pretty normal to think about an area that needs work and suddenly feel a cold sweat and a knot in your stomach. As a result, we can develop a blind spot that steers us clear of that fear so we won鈥檛 have to deal with it.
- Being in a hurry. Blind spots can appear when the driver is in a hurry and doesn鈥檛 check his mirror or his backup camera. The same applies to us. When we鈥檙e rushing towards a solution or scurrying to reach a goal, we blind ourselves to different ways of doing things or danger signs along the road.
- Unflinching belief system. Believing in something is great. However, a belief can become so strong, it blinds us to anything but what we think is true.
- Laziness. Investigating whether or not we鈥檙e right about something can be exhausting and time consuming. Sometimes, it鈥檚 just easier to make it up. Remember: a garbage truck can bully its way into the next lane because it鈥檚 the biggest vehicle on the road. Sometimes, we do the same thing: unknowingly use our position or power to justify our own point of view it.
What are the Dangers of Blind Spots?
Just like blind spots can get a truck into real trouble, they can bring danger to us, to our relationships, and to our companies:
- Crash and Damage. Sometimes, blind spots have an immediate harm. Something mean or spiteful slips out of our mouth. We put a dent in trust. We mangle a process or create conflict. We don鈥檛 do these things on purpose. They happen because we鈥檙e not aware of what we鈥檙e doing.
- Injury. Our blind spots can harm innovation, creativity and freethinking. Relationships can be permanently altered. Confidence and faith can be broken.
- Expense. Blind spots can also hit your pocketbook. One of the biggest culprits is inefficiency: the failure to see the garbage in the way we do things. That can cost us time, create unnecessary cost, and chew up resources that could be used far more efficiently. Here鈥檚 the worst part: because we don鈥檛 notice it, we keep on doing it.
- Recovery.After a blind spot causes damage, it takes time to recover from the injury and expense. That can have a negative effect on morale, ingenuity and the goals you set for yourself and your company. Recovery delays growth and causes people to pull back on their hopes and dreams, often because of an unconscious gut feeling that something is out of whack鈥攂ut we can鈥檛 quite put our finger on what it is.
The biggest danger of blind spots is their tendency to blindside you. Because they pull a shroud over the reality of what鈥檚 going on, you lose your situational awareness. You stop questioning money, relationships, and business dealings, thinking that you鈥檙e right and never getting any confirmation to the contrary. It鈥檚 like you鈥檙e a driver in a truck, looking straight out the windshield and never looking at your mirrors or your back-up camera. Eventually, you鈥檙e going to get hurt鈥攁nd you鈥檙e probably going to hurt others, too.
How Do We Fight Blind Spots?
One of the best ways to uncover blind spots is to ACT, which stands for Aware, Choose, Toss. Once we become aware of thoughts and behavior that is hidden to us, we can choose not to engage in it anymore. At that point, we can toss it out of our mind and do something different. That鈥檚 where the breakthroughs happen and we鈥檙e able to stay on the route to the life and to the company what we truly want. Because blind spots are invisible to us, it takes a little more sleuthing to seek them out. Here are some tips to help you do that:
- Look for patterns.Do you find yourself asking, 鈥淲hy does this always happen to me?鈥� Does your department always get the same result no matter many times you do things differently? Do people get annoyed with you whenever you bring up a certain subject? These repeating patterns can be a real clue that you have a blind spot somewhere in the way you鈥檙e thinking or acting.
- Ask for feedback. Given the mechanics of blind spots, others are able to spot inconsistencies in our behavior long before we do. Take advantage of that. If you鈥檙e hitting your head against the wall and you don鈥檛 know why, ask a friend or colleague what they see. If that feedback is very different than the perception you have of yourself (鈥淭hey say I鈥檓 stingy. I think I鈥檓 generous鈥�), that鈥檚 a clue you might have a blind spot; in this case, in the way you manage your money.
- Know your culture. Do you work in a company where you defer to senior management instead of bringing up issues or concerns? Can you or your co-workers admit when you鈥檙e wrong, especially in the face of a strongly held company belief? Understanding the culture around you can help you uncover blind spots. Case in point: the number of Korean Airlines crashes between 1970 and 1999. As Malcolm Gladwell鈥檚 book The Outliers pointed out, many accidents were caused by co-pilots and engineers unwillingness to bring up issues they saw and instead defer to the pilot鈥檚 seniority and status鈥攁 common cultural trait in Korea. By changing this cockpit culture and encouraging everyone to speak up about safety issues, Korea Airlines greatly improved its safety record. Know your culture and the factors that can contribute to blind spots鈥攁nd don鈥檛 be afraid to change them.
- Slow down. Don鈥檛 be in a hurry. Get another point of view before you act on something you鈥檙e unsure of鈥攅specially if it鈥檚 gotten you into trouble in the past.
- Question things. To fight confirmation bias鈥攖he mind鈥檚 tendency to selectively filter facts鈥攄on鈥檛 take life at face value. Challenge yourself and your beliefs. Examine what鈥檚 happening around you. Look for areas where you have strongly held beliefs and question them. The more you check in with yourself, the more likely you are to uncover blind spots (see Figure 2).
Stay on Your Route to Success
Blind spots can be dangerous. They can fool us into thinking the world is a certain way when, in fact, it can be very different. They can pull us off onto unproductive side trips and lead to unintended consequences. To combat them, act like a garbage truck driver. Assume the danger is there. Adjust the mirrors to pull into focus those areas hidden from us. Try out different behavior. By never backing up into the unknown, you can minimize the danger from blind spots and stay on your route to success.
Norm LeMay and Steven Kaufman, co-authors of the book The Garbageman鈥檚 Guide To Life: How To Get Out of the Dumps,聽are two guys who love talking trash. This Disposal Dream TeamTM knows garbage, how to get rid of it and how to clear your mind for success. For more information, please call (800) 806-0301 or email [email protected]. 聽
Figure 1
Blind spots can come from a number of different places.
Figure 2
How to fight blind spots.
Images courtesy of The Garbageman鈥檚 Guide, LLC.