Sunday, February 26, 2012

Look "Beyond the Fingers" When Building Something

There's a memorable scene in the film "Patch Adams" when Robin Williams and his mentor have the following conversation:

Arthur Mendelson: How many fingers do you see?
Hunter Patch Adams: Four.
Arthur Mendelson: No no! Look beyond the fingers!
Now tell me how many you see.

Patch (Williams) sees a blur because he stands too close. His eyes focus when he steps back a bit, and there he sees four individual fingers. The moral? Sometimes things are a blur when we're too close to them. It takes a few steps back to see things more clearly.

I recently got too close to a project I was steeped in, and I didn't realize that I wasn't able to properly focus on the details. The project meant a lot to me, and I was completely immersed in all aspects of its development. It took me quite some time to recognize I had to take a few steps back and give certain people much more ownership. It was hard to let go, but I saw the project in a different (more clear) light when I handed over the "reigns!"

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