Want to save time and energy at work? Reduce your Blind Spots.

I want to start this new article with a direct question and end it with a suggestion that is very close to my heart.

Here’s the question: Do you consider yourself better as a Problem Solver or a Decision Maker?

Below a major lesson I learned related to the title of today's Newsletter and this question. 

Read it with attention: you will save a lot of time and energy at work!

Early in my career, I aspired to be an excellent Problem Solver.

When faced with obstacles or problems, as a good engineer, I enjoyed finding quick and creative solutions.

I would go to bed thinking about the problem, and in the morning, I would wake up with the solution (it really works!)..

Photo credit: Ismagilov 

As I gained more seniority, the number and difficulty of problems increased.

They arose from a mix of causes and responsibilities across various areas of the company.

Since I was the quickest to solve problems, my managers often delegated their resolution to me (a classic situation you might be familiar with).

Anxiety increased. Hours of sleep decreased.

Additionally, I had more and more stakeholders to satisfy: my boss, the Board of Directors, partners, banks, and institutions.

I realized that I didn’t need to become faster or more creative at solving problems.

The goal was to avoid them from the start.

How?

Simple: by making better upstream decisions.

That was the key: making more thoughtful decisions could prevent many errors and the resulting waste of time, energy, and budget from having to solve the problems that arose.

Photo credit: Awesome Invention

As I grew as an executive, my mission became more ambitious: I didn’t just want to be an expert Problem Solver. I wanted to become an excellent Decision Maker.

 So, I became passionate about studying decision-making processes.

Listening to various Farnam Street podcasts (one of my favorites), I realized that Decision Making is much more than typical strategies, game theories, Pareto principle, Eisenhower Matrix, pros and cons analysis, or SWOT analysis, etc. 

At the heart of good Decision Making is a simple and truly key concept: to make optimal decisions, you need to understand the reality around you.

As the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein said, “To understand is to know what to do.”

Think about it, how many mistakes do you make when you fully understand something?

None. 

Where do mistakes come from?

They come from blind spots, the aspects of a situation we fail to see, from the lack of a complete understanding of the reality around us.

Photo credit: Joy Harris 

The reasoning is simple and flawless.

Follow me:

If you observe a situation you must face and have no blind spots >> you will understand it clearly >> you will know what to do to resolve it >> you will make better decisions >> you will avoid mistakes >> you won’t have problems to solve.

The benefits? Countless!

• The time, money, and energy you would have spent solving problems can be invested in high-value activities for you, your team, and the company.

• Without errors and problems to solve, you and your team won’t work reactively and will avoid anxiety and the typical long hours in the office solving issues.

• For an executive, making the right decisions is more challenging and intellectually stimulating than solving problems. 

In this simplified diagram, you can clearly see how much time you save when you understand reality without Blind Spots (clear boxes on the right) compared to when you have Blind Spots.

Photo credit: https://be-executive.com  

I bet you have two questions at this point:

• What does it mean to “remove Blind Spots” to see reality clearly around me?

• How do I eliminate Blind Spots and understand the reality around me? 

I’ll answer the first question right away.

Removing Blind Spots means understanding reality and seeing problems from different perspectives, allowing us to choose better solutions. 

For example, in any business situation, it is likely that:

• An engineer will think in terms of systems and processes.

• A psychologist will think in terms of incentives.

• An entrepreneur will think in terms of opportunity cost and risk-return ratio.

None of them have a complete and clear vision because each has blind spots related to their discipline.

To better understand reality, they need to think in a multidisciplinary way, adopting the perspectives of other professionals.

I’m sure you see this situation every day in your company: finance, marketing, HR, and other areas focus on their limited vision, interpreting situations only through their specialized lenses.

This "myopia" leads to suboptimal decisions and wasted time, money, and energy.

Although there is often talk about breaking down company silos, few recognize the importance of breaking the mental silos caused by our Blind Spots.

For the second question, “How do I eliminate Blind Spots and understand the reality around me?” I’ll see you in the next article.

 Don’t miss it because I’ll reveal:

• the tools used by successful entrepreneurs and executives like Charlie Munger, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Ray Dalio, and Naval Ravikant to eliminate their Blind Spots and make optimal decisions.

• I will also present a practical example of how to use these tools when you need to decide whether to stay in your current role or change (move to another area/go abroad/change companies).

CONCLUSION 

I hope this Newsletter has helped you understand how important it is for us executives to have a clear understanding of reality. This will allow us to eliminate Blind Spots, make better decisions, and reduce problems, freeing up time and energy for high-value activities for you, your team, and the company.

Best, 

Silvia

A SUGGESTION (ACTUALLY TWO) CLOSE TO MY HEART 

1. If this Newsletter has given you interesting insights, share it with your team, colleagues, or friends. Offer your network the opportunity to reflect and see how it will enrich your conversations. Be generous with others (a characteristic of successful executives), but do it also for yourself: surround yourself with stimulating people with whom to discuss valuable topics, not just the weather, upcoming vacations, or the cat.
   This is the LINK you can share.

2. During the next coordination meeting with your team or colleagues, evaluate what Blind Spots are causing you problems. Together, you can make better decisions and significantly improve your journey toward your career goals.