The Window Washer

I was recently visiting a school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

After returning to my hotel room after leaving school for the day, I stepped out on the small balcony to see dark clouds moving quickly over the Mississippi River. What an amazing sight!

There was the mighty Mississippi with barges held together in lines by the tugboats. I could see the I-10 bridge to my left and the Louisiana State Capitol to my right with the ominous clouds above.

After flashes of lightning and a crackling sky, the rain started coming down in a hard and fast way.

I sat on the balcony—watching the sky move and feeling the moisture, humidity, and warm summer breeze— as the rain continued to fall.

I looked down to see a man walk out to the street from his condominium. He was wearing sandals and walking quickly with a long pole.

In the middle of the downpour, he proceeded to wash the high windows of the condo.  

At first glance, I thought that his actions were silly and funny. I watched a little longer and realized the genius in this problem-solving. He needed to clean unreachable windows.

Why not use the rain as a resource to accomplish a goal—even if it meant getting soaked!?!

Sometimes, to the observer, unconventional acts look bizarre and ridiculous, but to the doer their expanded mind about what is possible leads to strokes of creative genius.

How often do we quickly judge others’ creativity as weird or bizarre and only later see their actions, ideas, and inventions as smart? Or, are we too prideful to see and acknowledge their genius?

As a leader, how do you step outside of conventional ways of doing things?

How do you create spaces for others to take calculated risks when there might be a better way of doing something?

Where some see absurdity, others see opportunity. What do you choose to see?