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Jo Ellen knows what works with employees and what makes the leader's job more difficult than it has to be. She also understands that busy leaders need a quick, easy-to-read leadership resource to enhance their effectiveness and lead them to success. A Dog’s Advice to Leaders is just such a resource.

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Oh 7, I Can’t See You!

December 15th, 2009 • Related • Filed Under

My husband bought me a new Sudoku book recently. I’ve worked, so far, 27 “medium” puzzles, and on nine of those, I’ve had to work them twice or three times. Not a particularly impressive record.

I took a look at the errors I was making consistently. One of them stood out. I became so focused on finding the right square for a given number that I did not see the existing numbers already in their places.  So I might have 2 9’s in the same row, or two 2’s in the same square. And the existing number was essentially invisible to me!

I think similar things sometimes happens in the real world. People don’t see part of the solution to their problems, even when it’s right in front of their eyes … perhaps, like me, they’re too focused on the detail at hand.

At such times, one of the best things to do is shut the book and let the puzzle ride for awhile. When you come back to it with fresh eyes, those double numbers might just jump out at you! Out in the world, step back from the problem at hand. Work on another issue for awhile, or even go take a walk and work on no problem at all. Then when you return, what you could not see before will likely become visible.

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