CROSSED PERSPECTIVES
Finding the right outside perspective when a question remains unanswered.
Running a business regularly brings up questions that are difficult to answer alone. Sometimes the situation is new. Sometimes it requires specific expertise. And sometimes, when you have been immersed in a subject for too long, it simply becomes harder to see other possibilities.
Crossed Perspectives explores a simple way of bringing different perspectives to a question or issue faced by an entrepreneur.
Starting with the question
The principle is to start with the actual situation: an unanswered question, a difficult decision that needs another perspective, or an issue that would benefit from an outside view.
Depending on the nature of the question, different forms of intelligence can be called upon:
- Artificial intelligence. AI can provide an initial response to explore the subject, identify possible avenues or help formulate the question more clearly.
- An expert from the network. When the question requires specific knowledge or experience, it can be put to an expert in the relevant field, who brings their professional perspective to the situation.
- A panel. Some questions benefit from being explored from several angles. A panel can bring together people with different backgrounds and experiences, some close to the field concerned and others more removed from it. Crossing these perspectives helps explore the situation beyond its purely professional or technical dimension.
Perspectives rather than a ready-made answer
Crossed Perspectives does not necessarily seek to provide the answer.
The idea is to help an entrepreneur step outside their own frame of reference, compare their intuitions with other experiences and discover possibilities they might not have considered on their own.
The decision remains with the person who asked the question.
A solution in incubation
Crossed Perspectives is currently being developed in the Prefix incubator. The solution is an evolution of Cross Boards, an earlier approach that invited business leaders to form peer-support circles.
Our first experiments led us to simplify and broaden the principle: rather than forming an ongoing group and preparing information to share, we start directly with a question or issue and look for the perspectives that can best help move it forward.
We are now exploring the simplest way to ask a question, identify the type of perspective it needs and, where useful, bring the right people around the situation.
The way it works will continue to evolve through experimentation. The principle remains simple: a real question, different forms of intelligence and the opportunity to cross perspectives in order to move forward.
Interested in contributing?
If the idea interests you, if you would like to experiment with it or contribute to its development, we would be happy to hear from you.