Switch your perspective is one of the 6 Switches.
And it a lot of ways it is the easiest to do.
It means simply looking at say a problem, opportunity, issue or situation using a different lens.
In my Switch Thinking courses and workshops participants intuitively know how to do this.
Why?
For years they have been told to look at the customer perspective for example.
Or consider a startup one.
These switches are important useful but they do not go far enough.
These perspectives are often related to the situation or problem.
For example, if you are considering a new employee retention strategy it makes sense to consider an employee perspective or a recent graduate one.
But sometimes it is far more insightful to consider a random perspective.
How might a music conductor look at this same situation?
Or a flight school instructor?
Or a nurse?
Or a Veterinarian?
To switch your perspective means exactly that, you need to switch.
The good news is that there is no right or wrong way to switch your perspective.
The goal is to help you view a situation differently.
And often the more random the perspective switch the better.
Because your competitors also will be considering a customer perspective for example so you will not stand out.
Artists for example, are very good at helping you switch your perspective often in challenging ways.
The key message?
You can look at a problem in the usual way e.g. as a manager for example and you might generate some relevant but limited new ideas.
A better way is to switch your perspective and consider a multiple range of perspectives.
In this way you greatly increase your odds of generating a fresh and original insight, idea or solution.
It’s why having a diverse team (that get on) working on a problem is a more productive and creative strategy.
A last thought:
Another interesting insight i have found from my Switch Thinking courses and workshops is that when participants switch their perspective they often go back and switch the problem.
Your perspective, the problem, focus, questions, outcome and rules are far more fluid than what people initially realise.