My daughter and I have recently visited the butterfly house in Vienna, where hundreds of colorful flying creatures were causing lots of “AH” and “UH” amongst the handful of visitors. We used our cameras to zoom in and zoom out in order to see the detailed structure and the beauty of the wings. In the next moment we had to zoom out so we could catch a group of wonderful bright blue butterflies enjoying the morning sun high up in the air. It’s not a big deal to zoom in and zoom out on any camera – just using 2 fingers on your phone, right? And both perspectives are essential for me and my daughter in the butterfly house to catch the beauty of the moment – in small detail as well as high up in the air.
From BIG to small
“Zooming” is not a skillset that recruiters currently look for actively, but it’s my personal synonym for being able to adapt, being agile and nimble, yet not overlooking the beauty of the moment and the bigger picture. To go from “big” to “small” just with a tiny move – like 2 fingers in case of our camera – will allow you in the volatile world to investigate the latest little detail on bites and bytes level and with the blink of an eye change perspectives and see the bigger connections.
We need that type of thinking that allows us to detect patterns, networks, cycles, symmetries on all levels. It’s those dynamic, vivid structures and relationships of people as well as data that play a key role in our digital future. The one who is able to recognize these patterns has a huge advantage to navigate through a fast-paced, complex world. Because this ability does not only help to have guidance in whatever you are doing it also allows to create new, simple, sustainable yet viable solutions on all levels.
There is so much power in this interplay – to zoom in and zoom out with the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, we have been trained to be consistent. To start in one way and not switch right in the next moment. We’ve been encouraged to study 1 subject and become an expert. We’ve been advised to stay with one employer at least for a certain time. We teach our kids to “decide what you want” and stay with their decision. It seems we are constantly tempted to play around with the zoom-factor whilst we are being told to decide for one over the other.
Right? Wrong!
The more perspectives you can have, the higher the chances are to discover even more impactful patterns. It’s about sharpening your awareness for the big differences as well as the most obvious commonalities, in the “big” and in the “small” world. In a disruptive environment the one who is able to use the zoom in both ways will be the one ahead of the game. What’s easy to do on a camera for catching the beauty of butterflies, is in the real world of business an art, a true skill that you need to start practicing if you haven’t done so. Give it a try in the next hour: whatever task or challenge comes your way, try to zoom out for a moment to check the perspective and then zoom in within the next minute and see what if you did a deep dive to uncover the underlying patterns….it’s worth a try and both perspectives will be attractive, just like the colorful pattern on the butterfly’s wing as well as the group of butterflies dancing in the air!