Recently,
while preparing a training session, I noticed that training has a lot in common with one of my hobbies: cooking. Here’s what I mean:
• Cooking: If you use too much salt, your dish becomes inedible. Training: If you make every topic seem ‘crucial,’ participants won’t be able to discern what’s important.
• Cooking: If you add too many ingredients, the dish turns into a mishmash. Training: If you cover too many topics, trainees will lose the overview.
• Cooking: If you serve overly large portions, you create mountains that your guests have to climb. Training: If you go into excessive detail, trainees will have to become hill-climbers too.
Now,
let’s say you’re working on a proposal and there’s a part you’re struggling with. You notice you’re having ‘mental cramps’—which is itself an analogy for tunnel vision. And tunnel vision is, in turn, an analogy for staring at the same thing for too long, hoping it will change.
If you actively look for analogies, this process will naturally shift your thinking.
When you find a good one, you might suddenly see the solution you’ve been searching for. It was there all along, just hiding in your ‘tunnel.’
In short,
analogies are powerful tools that can help you solve problems and make better decisions.
Do this:
• Actively look for them.
• Find as many good ones as you can.
• Write down the best ones.
• Reflect on them.
• And gain a clearer view of what you’re actually working on.
One last thing:
Analogies are the weapon of choice for some very successful businesspeople. Here’s an example of Steve Jobs proving a point about teamwork, using an analogy (or a metaphor) embedded in a story.
That’s all,
RvdL
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