Gathering Perspective

By Ian Richardson, Managing Partner, Richardson & Richardson Consulting

In sticking with our theme around perspective, I thought it would be useful to give a few different lists around perspectives to gather depending on situations. This blog will cover 5 caveats I’ve found that serve me well when gathering perspective.

First, by no means are these meant to be exhaustive. One thing I’ve found to be “absolutely true” is that no one, myself most of all, can be a single source of truth around a topic. Remember that these lists are my perspective around the topic. Collecting and analyzing other points of view is required to have a well-rounded plan.

Document perspective as you gather it.

Write down perspectives as you gather them. Context, detail, and key items can get lost or forgotten over the course of just a few hours. An interesting statistic I found (Source: Bridge [1]) is that 50% of training is lost within an HOUR of consumption, increasing to 70% within 24 hours. You can improve retention with additional training actions. Hearing the perspective is one action, or sense utilized. Writing it down, and rereading it are two additional actions across different mediums (hand/touch and eyes/visual) that can help increase the amount of retention you will have around the perspective you’re gathering.

Time impacts perspective

Validate perspectives across multiple sources. For example, if you’re gathering perspective from your team, ask multiple people on your team on different days and at different times. The same holds true for clients, prospects, vendors, and suppliers, etc. You never know if you’re catching someone at a bad time or a particularly good time. Getting a cross section that accounts for different moods and environments is helpful.

Perspective can change over time

Recheck your perspective periodically. What was true in June of 2015 may no longer be accurate in May of 2022. Time changes all things, universally. Ensuring that your perspective is valid for the current set of variables and environment is invaluable as an exercise.

Balance your perspective

Make sure to make you consider your own caveats. Consider that this document represents what Ian Richardson has found to be important when considering perspectives. Ask yourself, “what do I find to be important?”

Other perspectives to consider:

Your team
Your clients
Your vendor partners

Make sure to keep those in mind as you pursue these lists.

Additional Resources

If you’re struggling to gather perspective or get your team onboard with the need to do so, Richardson & Richardson can help. Check out our case studies for stories of organizations that we’ve assisted with similar issues and download our white papers for deep dives on tools you can use in your organization. If you’re wondering where to start, book a complimentary session with one of the Richardsons today to come up with a plan on how to move forward.

Always Forward,

Ian Richardson