This is so true in creativity and innovation work. It is the reason I named my company “Broad Perspective”. Not just because I’m a girl, but because so many times people get mired down by the smallest things when they need to ladder things up so that they can see the bigger picture from different perspectives. There are always more sides to a story. There is an exercise I like to do with groups sometimes in order to prove this point.

Put people in groups of three. One person in each group starts and they have to tell a story. It can be about anything, but it has to include characters and inanimate objects. Once they are done, participant #2 goes and they have to tell the same story but from the perspective of one of the characters or inanimate objects. Then, participant #3 goes and does the same thing … the same story but from a third perspective. During the debrief, it is amazing how participants see that every experience, every story, every idea has different perspectives.

And then when you broaden the story to make it even bigger, you get way more robust ideas. The story appeals to more people. It’s how you begin to add in the details of the story, but first you have to broaden the scope of the story.

That’s why just you taking a “selfie” of your perspective and not broadening the content only tells one side. Take this picture for example. At first glance, it just looks an artsy print for your wall.

Do you know what it really is? It is the heart of a mosquito. See what happens when you magnify something … you broaden your perspective. That’s what we’re all about! #Applaudthebroad

-gert-