Page 20 - Occupational Health & Safety, June 2018

RISK MANAGEMENT
Preventing opportunity blindness is not about what others see, it is about how you choose to view the world and the actions you take to trans- form it into something more.
lionaire in the process. His friends and family were in awe of what he had accomplished. Everyone thought he was done. There is no raw material left to sell, right? Not David. He identified yet another opportunity no one else dreamed about. What do you do with a hole? You fill it. David started a landfill business and box after box, bag after bag, and bucket load after bucket load, his company filled the hole, all while making more millions. In the end, David con- verted the property into a very large park and donated it to the city. This is innovation. This is the kind of mindset that delivers perfor- mance beyond expectations.
So you see, seeing straight lines when presented with straight lines blinds you to opportunities that lie within. David’s family, friends, and acquaintances viewed life in straight lines. David’s en- trepreneurial vision identified several needs, gaps that needed to be filled. He brought solutions to life that only he recognized. He took a hill for what it was worth and more.
There is a major takeaway here. If it seems as though there is nothing to see, there probably is something big behind it. Prevent-
ing opportunity blindness is not about what others see, it is about how you choose to view the world and the actions you take to transform it into something more.
I have seen many professionals in meetings look at organiza- tional challenges as hills that someone else needs to climb and conquer. They seem to forgo the effort of finding gaps and then providing solutions to fill those gaps in ways their organizations consider as value added. It is then this mindset that separates the self-blinded from the visionary.
The path that leads to vision is paved with inquisition. It is outlined with the perpetual drive to search, find, uncover, and rediscover all that others seem to forgo. Look for what is not there in everything, whether that is your safety management system, your career, or your organization’s competitive position in the marketplace.
Process Thinking—a Different Look
A tool that can help you prevent opportunity blindness is process thinking. Let’s forgo systems thinking for now because establishing a mindset of vision is very fundamental. Process thinking offers most everything we need to transform the way we view the world around us.
Process thinking is a way to view the world from a systemat- ic point of view and bring into focus the big picture. In it, every
Circle 18 on card. See us at ASSE, Booth 2054
Untitled-9 1 5/2/18 1:35 PM
20 Occupational Health & Safety | JUNE 2018 www.ohsonline.com