Too much focus is a problem when problem solving

(image credit)

Individuals and organizations suffer from too much focus much of the time. That was the sense of the majority of responses to this month's column. Respondents didn't stop there. They described why it happens and what to do about it. In the process, they provoked a new round of questions.

David Physick teed up the discussion nicely by commenting, "The wonderful American motor racing driver, Mario Andretti, who was as focused an individual as any racer, remarked he'd stop driving when his peripheral vision reduced." Like race cars, he continued, businesses can be 'raced' by drivers whose peripheral vision has failed. "They could see the clear track ahead of them as they initially led their markets but failed to notice the competitor coming up on the inside until it was too late."

Reference:  Is Too Much Focus a Problem?

I've generally felt, in my work and social life, that focusing (i.e. concentrating, analyzing) must be balanced with being mindful (i.e. open, attentive).  But that's easier said than done, as the above reference from HBS Working Knowledge discusses.

What to do?

Possible antidotes start with a realization that noticing is something that can be learned, both individually and organizationally, something that [Max] Bazerman [author of The Power of Noticing] believes strongly (or he wouldn't be teaching and writing about it). It requires leaders who, among other things suggested by Bazerman, develop a habit of asking the equivalent of Groopman's "What else could it be?" and then listening carefully for the answers.

Moreover, let's take the image of the maze above.  If the man's attention were narrowly focused on sections of the maze, he'd have difficulty finding the right route from entrance to exit.  He'd have to step back and see as close to the whole of the maze as possible.  But more specifically, I think, he'd have to oscillate deftly between a narrow focus and a broader look to identify the right route.

Of course it's easier to be outside the maze, but what if one were actually inside the maze?  It's definitely more challenging.  Still, that oscillation applies.  In the absence, let's say, of a map or GPS, who does one proceed?  Through a strategic trial and error: One goes forward, checks for clues, and adjusts accordingly.  One creates a mental scheme of the maze (i.e. broader look), based on methodical moves vis-a-vis openings and deadends (i.e. narrow focus), and assesses how well he progresses.

When I lived in Dubai, I sometimes had difficulty finding places.  The logic of highways, avenues and side streets were either absent or different from what I used to, as an American in the US.  The spatial algorithm I created essentially oscillated between focusing and noticing, and it also drew from previous experience and knowledge of the city (i.e. what I was learning on a day to day basis).