Do You Have Tunnel Vision?

I was flying home from Florida this past Sunday, and as the flight attendant made her way around with the beverage cart, something interesting happened…

I got sprayed with soda, as she opened a can and it started shooting out soda.

The flight attendant was completely unaware that three passengers were sprayed. She was so focused on the one person she saw it happen to, she didn’t ask anyone else if they needed a napkin or cloth, or if they’d gotten wet.

Both my sister and I got sprayed as well. The flight attendant focused on the aisle seat person, and didn’t even consider others may have gotten sprayed.

Now, my sister and I are laid back people, so we could do one of two things…say, excuse me, do you have a napkin, I got sprayed as well. We also could have just wiped up the splatter with what we had handy, which is what we did. We didn’t make a scene (it was obviously an accident), we just cleaned up quietly and simply. It wasn’t a huge deal, it was an accident, and while I got sprayed in the face, it didn’t get in my eyes or anything! I was at the window seat!

The lesson here is that, just because you see it happen to one person, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen to three people.

If you’re so focused on that person, that’s fine. You could also make a small statement to others, “Did anyone else get wet? Does anybody else need a napkin?”

It’s a simple story, but one that you can apply to your business. How’s your peripheral vision when it comes to your business? Can you only see one thing at a time, or are you looking at the full picture?