Walking down the hall yesterday, a man was walking at some distance ahead of me. Not unusual as this particular hallway is typically pretty crowded. The unusual thing was what he was wearing – a bright white toilet seat liner that stood out against his dark blue pants. I wondered how many people had walked by him without pointing it out. So when I did, he was extremely grateful I had whispered the news to him.
It got me to thinking about how these sorts of things happen every day in business. Many of us have had those embarrassing moments and are grateful to strangers, friends or co-workers who save us from parading around all day with food in our teeth, toilet paper or seat liners hanging out from our pants or stains on our shirts. But many times people will pass by without saying a word. And when the issues become larger and more important, how many will say “there’s a problem”? Do you have people who tell you what you want to hear, or that there is actually a problem? What can you be doing to make sure those lines of communication are open and you get the news you really need to hear?