Holmes And Watson Go Camping
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went camping. They pitched their tent under the stars. During the night Holmes wakes Watson and says. “Watson, look up at the stars and tell me what you deduce.”
Watson answers, “I see millions of stars. It’s quite likely some have planets similar to Earth. And if there are planets like Earth there might also be life on some of them.”
Holmes replies, “Watson, you idiot. Someone stole our tent.”
Recently I was in a discussion with a client about the various services his company provides. We got started on this discussion because he is adding a new product that will significantly increase his business and will require both capital investment and a re-thinking of the current business model.
While discussing his various existing business units and their products and services, something jumped out at me. There are two small but profitable units that have been used solely to support the main business activities. Why can’t their services be sold directly to other companies?
My client was intrigued by this idea. We spent quite a bit of time breaking down its effects, from sales and marketing to staffing and financial implications. Turns out, these small internal businesses can become nice profit centers for the company with minimal investment.
This experience reminded me of the Holmes and Watson story. Often the answer to a problem or a way to grow your business is right in front of you, hidden in plain sight. Yet we don’t see it. We are so focused on the stars that we don’t see what’s right in front of us. We completely miss the real issue or opportunity under our feet.
Sometimes this happens because the culture doesn’t encourage constantly thinking about how to take what you have and build on it, how to look for new ideas hidden in the regular old business work. Sometimes it happens because the leader never encourages people to offer ideas about how to improve the business or turn internal processes into new opportunities.
But most often it happens because our thinking is boxed in, so we see things as they are without pausing to contemplate what they might become.
As Albert Szent-Györgyl a Hungarian biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine says, “Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different.”
How many Holmeses do you have, and how many Watsons? And which are you?