I was in London the other day visiting some clients and as the weather was good I decided I would walk as much as I could to enjoy the Christmas decorations and also get some exercise. I needed to cross the road at the junction of Oxford Street and Regent Street to get to the opposite diagonal point – nothing particularly unusual and I was expecting to cross Oxford Street first then cross Regent Street.
While I waited to cross I noticed that after the traffic halted at the red lights on Oxford Street the traffic started to move on Regent Street, so we pedestrians were kept waiting a little longer than I had anticipated. I was in no rush as my mind was clarifying some of the finer points of my upcoming meeting. Although, I noticed other pedestrians getting quite agitated as they thought the lights had missed out the signal. Then all of the traffic lights seemed to halt the traffic and the pedestrian lights turned to green so we could cross the road.
Now this is what interested me. I have used this junction many times and I started to cross Oxford Street with the intention of then having to cross Regent Street. But no – I could cross diagonally and complete the exercise in one go! Fascinating – also the road had been resurfaced with tarmac and a lighter surface that now made sense as it showed the diagonal route which I had barely noticed until then. This was a new development!
It certainly made me think and as I wended my way past John Lewis it got me mulling over all sorts of things and this is some of what I came up with:
1. Sometimes when we have to wait it can seem a waste of time, but in the end works out to take less time. How often are we rushing, feeling busy, when if we are more measured it can take less time?
2. Also do we use that waiting time usefully?
3. When we get used to something we can ignore new ways of looking at something. Are you ignoring new and better ways as you stick to the old?
4. If we are too blinkered we cannot see the new ways at all. How blinkered have you become in your business, in your life?
Fascinating questions which I am sure you can use to create that extra advantage. I am certainly training myself to keep an open mind and open eyes. Are you?
To your successes,
Peter
