A fresh pair of eyes helps you grow

A fresh pair of eyes – how it helps me

Each year I get to hear about great ideas being implemented around the world. And I get to ask the people who lead those initiatives any questions I like. Even better, I get to do it with colleagues from around the world who are in the business of implementing good ideas.

I give my time to judge the International Best Practice Competition and it is one of the most lucrative things I do. It shows me the world through a fresh set of eyes – those who strive for excellence. They don’t get there right away. The journey is ongoing but they all know that they can always be better yet.

I learn a lot from these international champions, who themselves are learning by doing great things:

• The problems they were trying to solve
• The exploration to find solutions
• The challenges of implementation
• The benefits and how they measured them
• The work still to do.

A fresh pair of eyes – how it helps you

A fresh pair of eyes can improve how you create value in so many ways:

• Putting the customer first: Standing in a customer’s shoes changes how you think.
• Removing biases: We never view our own work without the bias of the creator.
• Importing experience: Encountering those who have had different experiences from your own staff and customers creates new worlds of perspective.
• Exposure to new ways of thinking: “learn to deliver more value from the work of others.
• Pattern recognition: Learn to see the opportunities in patterns in your own organisation.
• Creating energy: See your people be energised as they help create new futures
• Find opportunities: Avoid missing the opportunities that matter.

How do You gain a fresh pair of eyes?

You just need to ask. There are lots of practical ways to get a fresh pair of eyes on your organisation:

• Hire new people from different places
• Hire and train for broad capability and perspectives, not just narrow tasks
• Second people from other organisations or other parts of your own organisation
• Seek external review of strategies, projects and major initiatives
• Put an external advisor on your project or programme board/steering group
• Use external facilitators for workshops, lessons learned reviews etc.
• Participate in national and international competitions to pitch yourselves against the best

As strategy implementation consultants we see many clients who set lofty goals to be the best in their field. Few of them actually check to see what the best looks like and how they measure up. If you really want constructive feedback on how to grow, you need to ask for it. Find yourself a fresh pair of eyes.

Phil Guerin, Consultant/Director, Hague Consulting Ltd. © Hague Consulting Ltd 2025. If you like this content, subscribe to our blog – it’s free! Enquiries@hague.co.nz

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