Love is Blind: Why You Need Help

Have you ever given advice only to have it come back at you? You know what I mean. You tell your best girlfriend she should dump that guy because he is so obviously not good for her. Then you find yourself in a relationship you know is wrong, but you can’t seem to take your own advice and bail. Or you have no problem letting your sister know what she could do to lose 10 lbs, but seem unable to shake your own extra 15.

Why do we see others so much clearer than we see ourselves?

This question came up lately as I started writing about the type of work I do. I was stumped. I know what I do. I know it inside and out, I am passionate and love what I do. So what’s up with that? I write about other people’s businesses with no problem.

Pretty simple, really. As @focuscom reminded me on twitter the other day “Because you’re too close to your own company. Outside perspective makes it easier to see features/benefits” So true.

When you get really close to a subject, you run the risk of becoming, like love, blinded. You take things for granted, you ignore the stuff you don’t want to think about, you concentrate on what you like.

When it comes time to write about yourself, you have a distorted view. Like trying to catch sight of how big your butt really is in a mirror, you never really get the full picture.

One day I was bemoaning to a friend, @alexglee, the fact that I couldn’t figure out an easy way to describe what I do for a living. I talked for what felt like forever, giving him examples and trying to summarize what I do. After a brief moment of thinking, he said, “In other words, you analyze the interactions that companies have with their various stakeholders and then help them improve those interactions.” Um. Yeah. What he said.

It doesn’t matter how much you know your business, it pays to talk to someone who can step back and look at your organization from an unbiased point of view.

Be Sociable, Share!

•