Every company needs a weathervane. Let me rephrase that. Every company concerned with the state of the consumer needs a weathervane. A weathervane is a device that is employed in the state of turmoil that is the elements. Exposed to the wind, the rain, the beating sun, and freezing cold...something that is outside - all the time.
I've been employed with my present company for the past few years, and from the first week I have been somewhere - else. On the road, with the consumer in the marketplace. They send me home occasionally, and then I pack a bag and head back out.
Not a road warrior, like so many diligent corporate harvesters out there working with their clients and gathering dividends for respective company coffers, but in the mix of real people. I have great respect for the employee who is working from the road, making calls, taking meetings, walking into known or unknown atmospheres and making headway in business - it is completely necessary and not easy. We need these titans of business who make things happen. Going from one airport to corporate building to hotel room to business meeting. Whisked by taxi, car service, or train from one business setting to another. Necessary, of course, critical - undoubtedly...but still missing something.
These workers often don't get the opportunity to really get people in their veins. Down in the mundane circles that allow them to blend in with everyday people buying their products or services and watching, learning, getting weathered by the elements. Today, for example - I sat in my favorite Starbucks in Dallas, TX waiting for a meeting this afternoon and working on a presentation. I didn't wear my headphones much, sat with my back to the wall, and talked to about half a dozen people during my stay. Conversations about everything from the way to connect to the internet, type of "energy cookie" I might be willing to try, to penis enlargement (he brought it up! No pun intended). I watched/listened to: a couple meet up and try to have an intimate, private conversation next to me, a mother and daughter discussing a future college decision, listened to a final job interview between a 50 something year old being questioned by a 30 something year old, saw two old friends try to work through years of absence, and four business men rationalize the changing marketplace and their positions in it.
The baristas behind the counter made small talk of their weekend activities, and between busy moments, had minor arguments over who was in charge with the void left by a dismissed manager. I blended in, sat back and soaked in the environment. All their morsels of content made me richer, more weathered, and appreciative of the struggles we all go through as humans. Not pushing my agenda, but being led by theirs. Just taking what was given as food for thought, and mental tags that will be utilized later when I finally get to recall the information for a strategy - or just common sense in my own life.
I am a weathervane, I get wet, hot, cold, and wind-blown. But, I am in the mix waiting for the sun and cold to tell me what's really happening. You can watch the Weather Channel and see what the outside world holds for you, but you don't feel it until you go outside. Here's my insight for the day; the next time you are headed out to some worthwhile meeting, catching a plane, or riding in a cab, hang up the phone, look up, watch the people, start a conversation about whatever, and think about what it might mean to your business. You might be your companies weathervane and just not know it yet.
