I’ve always enjoyed the window seat on an airplane.  I love looking at the neighborhoods, finding houses with pools, and looking for the track and football fields that mark the local high schools.  I enjoy being able to see the rivers, lakes and major highways.  Being able to have a bird’s-eye view of how the land below is laid out gives me an understanding that you can’t get on land.  It’s probably also why I enjoy looking at maps so much and can’t stand when the driving directions zoom into the exact street you are on, limiting your ability to see where the next turn is or the final destination.  

I have the same appreciation when it comes to business.  I think leaders are at their best when they are able to zoom out and see the big picture.  It’s easy to get sucked into the day-to-day operations of your business or job.  There is no shortage of demands on our time from clients, vendors, partners and fellow team members.  And when we let these demands dictate our schedule, we limit our ability to see the big picture.  I know when I find myself racing from one commitment or meeting to the next and I’m only able to see what is right in front of me, I need to pause and shift my perspective.

When we zoom out of the minutia and see the horizon, we get clear on what lies ahead.  Our sales forecasting tool is one of the ways in which we do this at Footers.  It has been instrumental in our in our ability to predict business volume many months in advance and prepare accordingly for that business.  Seeing the big picture also allows us to make better decisions.  When we broaden our view, we can evaluate a variety of paths to take instead of the one that is the obvious choice.  I’m proud of our team at Footers and how we approach growth opportunities for our team members.  Instead of solely focusing on promotions within a given department, we evaluate how people can potentially utilize their strengths in other departments or take a chance at creating a brand new position that doesn’t currently exist. 

We become better leaders when we are disciplined enough to pick our heads up and make decisions based on the long-term success of the company.  When we have a birds’ eye view of our business, we get a chance to see how things are connected.  Those connections improve our problem-solving abilities and allow us to create new opportunities for our teams and companies to thrive.  Like a giant puzzle we can make sure we have all of the right pieces and ensure that they fit together.  It’s the difference between working in your business and working on your business.