I couldn’t believe it, but there I was again last Thursday, propping my foot up on the x-ray machine at MGH (Massachusetts General Hospital). I was convinced that at least one of the toes on my left foot was broken (again).
My toe trouble started about nine years ago when my daughter Emily was a baby. As an entrepreneur starting a new business and a new mother whose baby never, ever napped, I was sleep deprived for years.
While moving through my house at my normal pace (faster than a speeding bullet), I would routinely walk into furniture, sharp corners, or ironing board legs and break my toes. If you’ve never broken a toe, I’m here to tell you that it hurts more than anything you can imagine.
Given my years of experience, I now consider myself a broken toe expert.
My recent toe problem seemed similar to the ones I’d had before. Most of the usual symptoms were there: burning on the top of my foot, tenderness when I put weight there, and pain when I walked fast (given my usual speed, you can see the problem here).
But this time, oddly enough, there was no swelling or bruising (and there usually is).
The next day, much to my surprise, my doctor’s nurse called to tell me that my toe was not broken. I couldn’t believe it. I was so sure it was broken that I’d been walking around for at least a week telling everyone about my condition and shopping for shoes for my “broken toe.” I even turned down ice skating because I knew it would hurt.
As it turned out, my toes were only bruised. I just assumed they were broken since they had been so many times before. And even though I didn’t have all of my broken toe symptoms, I ignored that important piece of data and went for an x-ray anyway.
The real reason I thought my toe was broken was based on my past experience. Since I am a broken toe expert, I had on my “broken toe glasses,” and I was looking at the situation through broken toe lenses that led me straight down the broken toe path.
The funny thing is that I see this in business all the time. Just as my past experience caused me to see the world through broken toe glasses, business people often view present day problems through the lens of past experiences and jump to the wrong conclusions.
For example, one of my clients hired me to set up his new company with a phone system. Since he had years of experience with landlines, he naturally thought that that’s what he needed.
Instead of picking out the latest, greatest landline technology for my client, I realized that what he really wanted was a way to be in touch with his customers and employees, no matter where he was.
So the original question, “What’s the best way to install a landline?” turned into, “What’s the most efficient way to stay in touch with my customers and employees no matter where I am?” Different question, different glasses, different solution.
So instead of setting him up with a landline, I solved the problem that he was really facing, created a solution better suited to his needs, and saved him a ton of money by using a virtual automated attendant tied to cell phones.
So here’s the important thing to remember:
Experience is an important decision making tool in business and we all rely on it. Just make sure you don’t fall into the trap of “been there, done that” and let past experiences limit your view.
Wait until you’ve walked around the problem a few times (with and without your glasses on) before you decide on a course of action. When you do, you’ll find that even if it really is the same problem you’ve met in the past, new lenses will help you find a better solution today.
I love snow storms. I can’t get enough snow, and even though we’re breaking records in New England for snowfall this year, I have to say that it feels like just the right amount to me. And I hope it keeps snowing through March.