Great workers are good at scanning in the specific activities where they excel. They see the possibilties going forward. They then use their strengths to pursue their chosen strategy and deliver success.
Different people use different names for this process. Some call it scanning; some call it taking pictures; some call it personal radar; some call it having a sixth sense; some call it strategic intuition.
Whatever name they use, however, such people often go through the following stages. They scan the situation to see what is happening. They then aim:
To see patterns … To see the possible strategies going forwards … To use their strengths to pursue their chosen strategy to achieve success.
Different people are good at scanning in different situations. They may use this skill when working as a crisis manager, retailer, sales person, engineer, coach, educator, financial analyst or in another role.
Let’s return to your own life. Are there any specific activities where you may be good at scanning? What do you do then to see the big picture? How do you select your chosen strategy and work to achieve success?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to do the following things.
Describe the specific activity where you may go through the process of scanning, pursuing a chosen strategy and working to achieve success.
Describe the specific things you do then to go through these stages.
As mentioned earlier, different people are good at scanning in different situations. Let’s look at some examples.
Scanning In Sports
The concept of scanning is well-known in sports. Tom Brady, the famous quarter back, said that he felt completely at ease on the field. Seeing the whole picture, he could follow his chosen strategy to shape the game.
Arsene Wenger, the soccer manager, said: ‘Top players have radar in their heads.’ The key was to help the players to use their repertoire of skills to make good decisions. He expressed this in the following way.
I try to see what happens to a player in the 10 seconds before he gets the ball, how many times he takes information and the quality of information he takes. It depends on the position.
What is interesting is that very good players scan six to eight times in the 10 seconds before getting the ball and normal ones three to four times. My challenge is to get my players to know which the best choice is and make the optimal decision every time they get the ball.
The player has to scan and decide. When he has decided he has to make the best possible solution. This means a compromise between risk and the progress of the ball.
Ellen MacArthur, who sailed solo around the world, was good at scanning when sailing her yacht. She talking about continually reading the waves to anticipate future sailing conditions. She then worked out the strategy for reaching her destination.
Scanning In
Specific Activities
Al Siebert described how he first encountered this ability when studying paratroopers who had survived challenging conditions. Writing in his book The Survivor Personality, Al described this in the following way.
During our training I noticed that combat survivors have a type of personal radar always on scan. Anything that happens, or any noise draws a quick, brief look. They have a relaxed awareness.
I began to realise it wasn’t just luck or fate that these were the few who came back alive. Something about them as people had tipped the scales in their favour.
Great workers in many fields demonstrate a similar quality. They scan situations, see patterns and seem to know what will happen before it happens.
Such workers use their personal radar to clarify what is happening and what may happen. They then reach into their repertoire of strategies and skills and do their best to deliver great results.
Great retailers often spend lots of time scanning and watching how customers react to the store layout. They then make the necessary adjustment to increase their sales. One retailer I worked with expressed this in the following way.
Put me in any shop anywhere and I will boost sales. Retail is in my blood. I can immediately see how to display the products and lay out the store to improve profits.
I had difficulty at school, but my parents saw I was good at selling and encouraged me to get a Saturday job. Now I am often used as a consultant to retailers who are doing pilot projects.
Today there is lots of scientific analysis about how people buy. In some cases, however, you just need to watch people and know how to design the store to increase sales.
Let’s return to the activity where you are good at scanning. How can you keep improving your ability to see patterns, select your chosen strategy and work to achieve success?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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