Fresh Eyes

Have you tried to sell your car or your house, but before you did you decided to fix certain things?  Maybe it was a running toilet or maybe your driver-side window wouldn't roll down.  Whatever it was, these are things that you knew needed to be fixed, were inconvenient and annoying, but after so many years you learned to live with them.  Although you decided to "sacrifice", you know someone else would not want to live with such inconveniences so you finally decide to fix them. 

This happens all the time with schools, businesses, churches, families, and every other type of organization.  If you leave broken ceiling tiles broken long enough, you'll get used to it and it will stay that way for years.  If the garage gets out of hand, it will likely stay out of hand.  If you accept mediocrity for a little while, you're more likely to accept it for a long while.

This is what's great about bringing a new person on your team.  A fresh set of eyes can better see what needs to be changed, because they have not grown accustomed to the mediocrity.

Think of it like proofreading.  Authors have thought, wrote, read, edited, and reread so many times, they are more likely to overlook errors because it all looks so familiar.  A fresh set of eyes can find mistakes much easier.  If you wouldn't submit a paper without someone looking at it, why would you run a family or organization (things way more important than a paper) without having someone check for errors?

Here are a few ways to use fresh eyes for your school, business, church, family, or organization:


New Employees - Great organizations not only evaluate new employees, but have the new employees evaluate the organization.  Whether it is with a survey, quick conversations, or a formal evaluation, this is a great way to use fresh eyes.

New Students/Members/Customers -  It is also important to get ideas and feedback from those directly affected by your organization.  Ask a ton of simple questions.  How could it have been better?  What did you like best?  What did you like least?  Any information is helpful to making improvements.

Ask Others - When it comes to your marriage or family, people usually don't want feedback for fear of embarrassment.  These areas of life are seen as too personal.  Unfortunately, this is the area we should ask the most feedback.  SO DO IT!  Ask friends, another couple or family to observe your marriage, parenting, or family and tell you what they like and what they would improve. 

Maybe a broken ceiling tile, running toilet, or faulty window may not be that big of deal, but if you would fix it for someone else, why not fix it for yourself?  Do not run the risk of becoming accustomed to mediocrity.  Constantly ask for fresh eyes.