This Friday we went down to the seaside in Devon to see some close relatives for the weekend, leaving our large and energetic dog behind. He doesn't like very long car journeys. However our relatives also had a dog, very friendly like ours but calmer and we walked with her in a nearby park instead.
The whole weekend reminded me that a change of scenery can help to give a different perspective, not just on dog walking, but from which to view professional life. It enables the problems and challenges of the working week to be put into a different context and allows them to be seen them through another set of lenses.
I recall a major corporate negotiation in a central London venue that had become becalmed for some reason. The differences between the two sides seemed intractable. The lawyers were locked in an argument and there seemed no way forward. Then the senior executive from our client invited his opposite number for a walk in Hyde Park for a one on one discussion. It became known, with great originality, as "the walk in the park".
Quite miraculously the differences of opinion were sorted out during the walk. I am convinced that the change of scenery helped to put the lead executives from each party into a different environment which resulted in them agreeing the foundations of a constructive solution which unlocked the discussions.
So if stuck on a professional issue whether related to yourself or to your work I recommend "walking a different dog" not literally (you may hate dogs or be allergic to them) but in the metaphorical sense of finding some way of seeing things in a different light from which solutions can be derived.
The whole weekend reminded me that a change of scenery can help to give a different perspective, not just on dog walking, but from which to view professional life. It enables the problems and challenges of the working week to be put into a different context and allows them to be seen them through another set of lenses.
I recall a major corporate negotiation in a central London venue that had become becalmed for some reason. The differences between the two sides seemed intractable. The lawyers were locked in an argument and there seemed no way forward. Then the senior executive from our client invited his opposite number for a walk in Hyde Park for a one on one discussion. It became known, with great originality, as "the walk in the park".
Quite miraculously the differences of opinion were sorted out during the walk. I am convinced that the change of scenery helped to put the lead executives from each party into a different environment which resulted in them agreeing the foundations of a constructive solution which unlocked the discussions.
So if stuck on a professional issue whether related to yourself or to your work I recommend "walking a different dog" not literally (you may hate dogs or be allergic to them) but in the metaphorical sense of finding some way of seeing things in a different light from which solutions can be derived.
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