How to be a Helicopter
When I was younger, there were these books and posters of "Magic Eye" images that, allegedly, if you stared at them long enough, you could see some hidden image. No matter how hard I tried, I could never see the image. Ever. All I saw were a bunch of abstract colors in a pattern, but no big picture. Can you see the hidden image above, or are you like William and me? The image allegedly shows a shark, in case you were wondering. This is not an exact science, but if you have trouble seeing the hidden picture, I'm willing to bet you're naturally more of a detail-oriented person than a big-picture thinker. These two approaches live at opposite ends of the spectrum, but there's a balance in between the two, and I like to think of it as being a helicopter. Unlike being a helicopter parent, being a helicopter in business is, in fact, a good thing. It means you can see and readily understand different perspectives in a situation and easily switch between deep dives an