The nail that sticks out..

This part of the world is very popular with weekend cyclists who flock here to both enjoy the countryside and the sections of the Olympic cycle route.  We get all sorts from the mud spattered off-roaders, the grey haired gentlemen who are sensibly not trashing their knees by running, to the lycra clad racing fraternity.  One thing I noticed a lot recently is a sub-set of the latter variety clad entirely in black.  The lanes here often have high banks and what with the overhanging trees are pretty gloomy even in the middle of the day.  This means our black clad brethren are rather hard to see.  The second of so difference it takes to spot them might be the difference between an accident and safety. 

This observation got me pondering on the value of standing out.  Particularly in certain cultures, it is considered unsafe to stand out from the common herd.  The Japanese even have a proverb that covers this, Deru kugi wa utareru, which translates as “The nail that sticks out gets hammered down”.  However, sometimes you have to be different from your background if you want people to notice you, and it is hard to pay attention to someone or something you don’t even notice.  So if you are attempting to lead from the middle of the pack, or if you are a ‘me too’ competitor in a crowded market place, you need to be brave, put on your pink lycra outfit and dare to be different.  Speak out and tell people what you really see and think to help them see things from a different perspective.  It only takes one brave voice to say “The emperor has no clothes” to enable others to see this too, and that is the beginning of the change, seeing the problem.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 21st, 2014 at 14:18 and is filed under Business Change, Hints, Tips & Techniques, Innovation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.