You may recall the fairy tale of “The Hideous Duckling.” It is the tale of a cast-off baby bird that is mistreated because it is unattractive to the childish ducklings raised with it. Much to everyone’s surprise the hideous duckling matures to become a gorgeous swan.
Unattractiveness often prevents public from seeing potential because they make judgments based on insufficient information as they skirt what they don’t like to be near.
Most public can identify situations in which they dismissed an opportunity that someone else capitalized on later. Often these opportunities were overlooked or rejected because they were perceived as dull, dull, or unpleasant.
As you contemplate this point, it is worth recall that if Alexander Fleming had been unwilling to work with the unpleasant green mold that affects stale bread, the world force not yet have the wonder drug penicillin and its heirs.
DON’T TAKE MY PICTURE, I’ll Break the Camera
The Taj Mahal
All too frequently, management becomes engrossed in making posh office space. Having feathered their nests, executives avoid the hideous duckling sites that need attention.
In many companies, distribution is one such hideous duckling. Trucks and loading docks excite few corporate chieftains. Yet Wal-Mart struck gold by focusing on quick deliveries through warehouses serving constellations of stores. As a result of its efficiency, Wal-Mart can offer decrease prices and attract more value-seeking customers.
The Ivory Tower
Executives dislike dealing with customer complaints. In fact, very few top-level executives will talk with miserable customers. Underlings deal with those problems. Fearing that the bearer of terrible news may pay a gray price, workers often sugarcoat customer unhappiness or terribly hide it.
STALL ERASERS
Losses Are Uglier Than the Dumpster’s Contents
One open-minded CEO ran a successful restaurant business. His success was due to starting his restaurant tours at the dumpster, one of the least striking parts of any restaurant. The CEO could judge the restaurant’s health by what the dumpster contained. Rotting raw food not compulsory over ordering of supplies. Too much rotting cooked food meant that the kitchen was having problems. Occasionally, he even found carefully wrapped, fresh prime steaks … indicating that employees were stealing food.
Floored
Packages that protect products are usually seen as necessary, but not vital. Crafty Henry Ford thought otherwise. On realizing that batteries for his cars came in solid wooden boxes, Ford specified the details of those boxes. After the battery was removed, workers took out the screws and used the wood as floorboards for his Develop A.
STALLBUSTERS
ServiceMaster has made a excellent income by solving the ugliest, dirtiest and smelliest problems its customers have. Perhaps you can do the same.
Find Your Hideous Ducklings
Here are questions to help you find hidden opportunities:
-Where are the places that executives and managers seldom stay?
-What can be learned by investigating those unattractive places?
-Which potential customers are perpetually shunned?
-Which kinds of potential employees are never hired?
-Which suppliers are avoided?
-What services are avoided?
Turn Your Hideous Ducklings into Swans
-How can you use an open mind and thoughtful questions to learn more about these areas?
-Who by now sees these hideous ducklings as swans? Why?
-How could each of these hideous ducklings be one of your best opportunities?
-Who could help you to better see, hear, and feel these opportunities?
-How could you easily and inexpensively test out thoughts related to the worth of these opportunities?
Donald Mitchell is coauthor of six books including The 2,000 Percent Squared Solution, The 2,000 Percent Solution, and The 2,000 Percent Solution Workbook. You can read about his work on making 2,000 percent solutions by registering for free at
http://www.2000percentsolution.com .