Eyes Wide Open

You might have noticed that the Benari tagline starts with “Pay Attention”. For many this means focusing on the task at hand to the exclusion of all else, wearing blinders to ensure that nothing intrudes.

It means the exact opposite for those in positions of leadership, those charged with ensuring their enterprise keeps moving forward successfully. For them, paying attention means having a 360 degree view, observing as widely as possible. Yet they too often find themselves focused narrowly, oblivious to good ideas and opinions of others surrounding them.

Focusing narrowly makes it much more difficult to make the best decisions. It leads you to ignore information, information that often holds the key to breakthrough ideas. Worst of all, it keeps you from understanding others, from learning what drives them, what excites them, what basic beliefs underlie their actions.

A few days ago I listened with interest to Krista Tippett’s NPR show On Being, as she interviewed Sister Simone Campbell, fighter for social justice and exceptional speaker. I was struck by Campbell’s thought, so similar to mine, about how “having the willingness to see their perspective leads to better decisions.”

Having the willingness, the openness, the flexibility to not just listen to but to actually hear and understand someone else’s perspective is the path to expanding your options. Expanded options lead to better decisions and better decisions lead to better results.

Get out of your comfort zone and enter the comfort zone of others. Pay attention to the people and the world around you. Most importantly, be willing to consider that the best option, and ultimately, the best result, can come from anywhere.

Sister Simone Campbell, left, and Sister Diane Donoghue