One foot in, one foot out: how to see a problem you are standing inside
The business may not be stuck. You might simply be standing too close to it. The same goes for careers, relationships and the spare room you have been about to sort out since 2019.
Useful thinking needs two positions: one foot in, close enough to understand what is really going on, and one foot out, far enough away to see what else is possible.
Foot in: get close enough to understand it
- Describe the problem in one sentence, without the words always or never.
- List what you know for certain, then list what you are guessing.
- Ask the people nearest the problem what they see. They are often waiting for someone to ask.
Foot out: step back far enough to see options
- If a friend brought you this problem, what would you tell them?
- What would someone from a completely different industry try first?
- What would you do with half the time? Twice the budget? No budget at all?
Stepping out is not avoidance. It is changing the camera angle.
Swap feet regularly
Being stuck usually means living in one position. Either buried in the detail, foot in forever, or floating in big ideas that never touch the ground, foot out forever. Good thinking swaps between the two.
Try it this week
Pick one thing that has felt stuck for more than a month. Spend ten minutes with one foot in: the facts, the guesses, the people. Then ten minutes with one foot out: the friend, the outsider, the constraints. Write down one option you had not considered. You do not have to take it. You just have to notice that it exists.
This is one of the tools we use with business owners at Mr Purple. It works just as well on a kitchen table.
Try it with other people
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