Recently I had a friend visiting me for a few days.

Ok, that’s great to hear that you have friends but what’s that got to do with anything? — Editor*

Well, not only was I excited to see them but it also meant that they were the first staying guest at the new Shiageto Towers 🗡🏡.

The power of a fresh pair of eyes

Wanting to be a great host, I tried to ensure that all they could possibly want was catered for; I made sure the fridge was stocked with all their favourite things, that I put out the good towels and bed linen, that the place was clean and tidy, etc.

One area I hadn’t thought much about though was the guest bathroom (aside from making sure that it was clean), particularly the bath in there.

The first morning of their stay we were sitting at breakfast when my friend said:

“What’s up with your bath?”

“Er, what do you mean?” I responded

“It doesn’t drain properly, I’d probably look at that if I was you”

Sure enough, when I went in to explore I discovered that the plughole was blocked (probably full of the previous tenants’ hair 🤢).

The problem was that in the 2 months I’d been in the flat, sure I’d identified obvious things like the fridge that didn’t close without a big push and the bedroom window that needed a special technique to open it, but I’d not had a bath so wasn’t completely unaware of the plughole situation.

Not to worry, nothing a good old plunger and some heavy chemicals couldn’t fix — problem resolved.

New day, different problem identified

The next day, my friend declared that they didn’t fancy a bath and asked if they could use the en-suite shower in my bedroom instead.

“Absolutely,” I announced, confident that today they would have a smoother washing experience.

As I waited in the kitchen preparing some coffee, my friend came out and declared:

“I can’t believe you don’t get annoyed at that showerhead.”

“What are you talking about?” I said.

“The showerhead in your bathroom; most of the holes are blocked which means it is working only to half capacity and it’s leaking upwards onto the ceiling. I’d get that sorted if I was you”

Lo and behold, once I went in and ran the shower I could see exactly what they were talking about. It’s amazing I’d been showering there for a couple of months and not once thought that anything was wrong (in fact I don’t think I’d even looked up at the showerhead once during that time🙄)

My friend was spot on and I removed the head from the shower and descaled it overnight which made an amazing difference (see the first photo).

Ok, hit us with the moral of the story

Despite what this may seem like, this isn’t really a story about bathrooms.

Far more interesting is the fact that I probably would have continued to live in ignorance about the bath and been content to use a sub-optimal showerhead had it not been for my friend.

In much the same way, other aspects of our work and life undergo the same phenomenon where we ignore things because we are unaware of them or because we’ve been doing them for a while that we don’t realise they are not the norm.

Shiageto is the visiting friend

When it comes to the support we provide for clients at Shiageto Consulting, in many ways we are the visiting friend who comes at things with a fresh pair of eyes and is trusted enough to point out things that can be improved.

For the most part these things are around the 3 pillars of IQ, EQ and FQ where we help identify areas to improve the quality of their ideas, the way they connect with others and the focus barriers that all stop them from achieving the success they are after.

Every time we work with clients I am amazed at the impact we make just by being observant, addressing the biases that persist and being able to show the way to make improvements.

In much the same way that poor-tasting hummus doesn’t know how to fix itself or that I should never cut my own hair again, we are proud to be the external support filling in the gaps that clients may be blind to.

The question is: What could you use a fresh pair of eyes to look at 👀?

Faris is the CEO and Founder of Shiageto Consulting, an innovative consultancy that helps firms and individuals sharpen their effectiveness.

Success = IQ x EQ x FQ

*oh hang on I am the editor

Originally Published on https://farisaranki.medium.com/

Faris Aranki Strategy & Emotional Intelligence

Having spent over 20 years delivering strategic change for the corporate and non-corporate worlds, Faris has experienced first-hand the fine differences between strategic success and failure.
His work has spanned numerous companies (from global behemoths to small start-ups), in numerous countries, across a range of sectors, supporting them all to unlock strategic success.

He came to realize that often what hinders institutions from achieving their goals goes beyond the quality of their strategy; it is their ability to engage effectively with others at all levels and remove barriers in their way. This has led to his passion for improving strategic effectiveness within all businesses and individuals and the foundation of Shiageto Consulting.

Over time, Faris has worked to distill his knowledge of how to solve complex problems in a structured manner combined with his skill on engaging effectively with others and his ability to quickly determine the barriers to a strategy's success. This knowledge has formed the foundation of Shiageto’s workshops, courses and methodologies. Faris believes that any firm or team can adopt these improvements; all it requires is a little of the right support -something Shiageto provides!

On top of leading our business, Faris is now an accomplished speaker and contributor for a variety of outlets.