A few years back I was exposed to the basketball awareness test. This test reinforced for me that we tend to hyper focus and while we are in that state of being we miss other things happening right under our noses.

As people who are responsible for uncovering needs and meeting those needs profitably and sustainably, it’s essential that we get better at seeing what most people don’t see—and take action on those opportunities.

Here are a few techniques that I like to utilize to reveal hidden opportunities for our clients:

1. Explore the Blur

Focus on something and everything else will be blurred. Stare at your finger and you’ll see what I mean. The first step to seeing hidden opportunities is realizing that you do miss things and you do tend to focus on certain aspects of any situation. As an individual or as an organization, you will habitually approach problems or situations in the same way. If you step outside of the area of focus and explore the blur you will discover new opportunities. The book Blue Ocean Strategy makes the important point that looking at non-customers can reveal new opportunities. One example used is Cirque Du Soleil. The founders redefined their customers from circus goers to theatre goers and created a new category and wildly successful business.

2. Multiple Points of Mood

Our mood impacts what we notice. Just picture the last time you were really ticked off. Did you think about the big picture or were you hyper focused on the nitty gritty of the moment? By placing yourself in various states or moods you will shift what you notice. Imagine looking at your category, customer or company from a zen-like mood, a child-like happy mood, a bitter mood or any other mood you can think of. Try wearing a mood and allowing others on your team to do the same when exploring customer needs, your product, etc.

3. Seven Whys

A time tested tool for uncovering hidden opportunities is asking WHY over and over again until you get to the clearest essence of whatever it is you are. Personally I like asking why seven times because it really pushes you to new depths. While this technique has been around for a while, it’s still a gem that works well. To get the best results I’ve found that when I am conducting interviews with customers or management that it’s helpful to let them know beforehand that I’m going to be asking a lot of questions. The heads-up tends to create a more open space for exploring deeper needs and wants.

4. Possibility Prompts

Try these prompts to push your mind to see hidden gems:

Other than the obvious what do we know about …? (This pushes the brain to dig deeper)

We are the only company that… (Hunt for 20 answers to this question by involving every group/department within your company and you’ll find hidden gems within your organization that can be leveraged to strengthen your differentiation).

What are they not telling us? (In many cases you need to hunt beyond what people say they need. Don’t take their word for it. Observational research can reveal needs even customers don’t realize they have).

Hidden opportunities are all around us if we just look through new eyes.

What are you seeing? What are you missing?

I think my answer puts some valuable clarity around each of these statements so I’d like to share it with you. Here was my answer…by the way I like using ‘the bus’ as a metaphor for business and life.

VISION: You know if a company has a vision because they speak of WHERE they are headed. They know the destination their bus is heading and what life will be like when they arrive.  More than a statement, a vision is a vivid and exciting picture of a better future. You know if a company is lacking vision when employees or customers act lost or wonder where they’re going. Visions often start with the introductory phrase “Imagine…”, for example:

1. External vision: “Imagine a world where automobiles release zero emissions…”

2. Internal vision: “Imagine a company that’s the leader in green technologies, setting the standards and shaping the conversation in partnership with the brightest minds around the world…”

MISSION: You know if someone has a mission if they know WHY people want to get on their particular bus. For example, they know:

1. The underlying purpose of their existence

2. WHO they serve

3. WHAT unique value they deliver

4. HOW they go about delivering that value based on their core services, programs or skills

VALUES: Details the way people ACT on the bus. Behavior is directed by a person’s values. Values guide actions. Everyone (and every company) lives by a set of values or principles that define HOW they should ideally act to fulfill their mission and reach their vision.

Now that you know the difference between vision, mission and values, please share what stage your company is at and your personal views on your company’s vision, mission and the values that define them.

Research In Motion works with a variety of resellers who resell both their products and their technical service packages. Each product or service has a unique SKU. For RIM products alone there are thousands of SKUs. These resellers also deal with all of RIM’s competitors, who have just as many or more SKUs. There were a few challenges:

• The resellers needed an easily searchable database of SKUs that they could access quickly while on sales calls.

• The information and SKUs were constantly being updated or revised.

• Once the resellers found the information, they were often unsure of which product or service to recommend and why.

RIM came to MFX asking for a physical printed book. After chatting with resellers themselves, examining the situation and determining the wants and needs of the resellers, we proposed an online solution that would be easily searchable and automatically updateable when the SKUs were changed/revised.
The result was Catalyst. This website, found within BlackBerry Universe, allows resellers to easily find SKUs with confidence that the information is up-to-date. It gives them tips on what that item includes and its selling features, as well as sell-up opportunities, and new product introduction highlights.
Once Catalyst was launched, RIM needed to ensure that the resellers knew that it was available to them, knew how to get there and how to use the tool most effectively. In order to peak their interests, we created a pdf tour which highlighted the key elements and features of the Catalyst site and how, as a reseller, the Catalyst site could help them to be most effective with their sales calls. This was sent out through email to all of the resellers.

For over 15 years, MFX Partners has worked with Hybrid Turkeys to create unforgettable events at the yearly US National Turkey Foundation Conference. Each year, MFX Partners develops a theme, invitations, gifts, decorations, signage and more. Hybrid’s Tom turkey caricature and event activities have become famous and much anticipated.  The 2010 Conference was held in San Antonio, Texas and the theme we created for Hybrid was “The Lone Star Saloon”. Year over year, we hear that the Hybrid event is the highlight of the NTF show for the turkey producers in attendance- the 2010 event held this February drew the biggest crowd ever.

Brand Challenge
Unite a highly fragmented workforce around the corporate brand values of IST.

Solution
We conducted an employee and management perception map exercise (using anonymous comment cards and three input sessions) to uncover how well people inside the organization understood and live their core values.

Our process revealed the organization had many positive activities in place that supported their values and the belief was strong that living their values was essential to the success of the business. We also revealed where there was room to improve.

A report of our findings and recommendations was prepared and presented to the management team. Specific actions were identified to better live the values of the organization and address key issues. We also developed a presentation for a company-wide town hall meeting led by the president of IST.

Results
Over 40% response to distributed comment cards, 80+% attendance at input sessions. A workforce that feels heard and better understands the five values of the organization and their contribution to making them real.

The organization is now implementing initiatives to better live their values including a new mentoring program, lunch ‘n learn sessions, adding computer stations for shop workers so they can participate in a ‘Above and Beyond’ peer recognition program related to living corporate values. To improve understanding of the company and brand for an ever-changing contract workforce we recommended creating an orientation video for new hires for more consistent introduction. The management team has also embarked on a specific training program to strengthen their ability to build trust and candour within the company.

Brand Challenge
Develop a company name, with brand image and messaging that gets the attention and interest of cement, steel manufacturing and primary industry CEOs who are driving their companies to be more environmentally friendly.

Solution
The choice of company name ‘Found Energy’ reflects the capability of the company to capture wasted heat and convert it to power that reduces carbon foot-prints. While ‘competitive’ initiatives are product feature selling, Found Energy marketing materials speak directly to the motivations of the target audience—better corporate citizenship.

Results
Positive feedback at the highest levels of the target organizations. Found Energy is being noticed and gaining audiences with decision-makers.