Volume XXIV, Number 10 (Issue 1171) March 9, 2026
Be Aware of the Perils of Tunnel Vision
How often do you find yourself falling into a pattern of tunnel vision? You know, the all-too-common phenomena of becoming so obsessed with a single path or solution that you can no longer consider an alternative.
It happened to me recently and the example is worth sharing. A long-time client of ours has been unsuccessful in filling a key position in one of its smaller markets. They have been looking for a particular set of skills and experience that are critical to the organization’s ability to grow in what is a promising market. Making the staffing task that much more difficult is their desire to fill the opening with someone who has ties to that community. Like many organizations, their belief is that someone with roots in the community coupled with a penchant for small town life would be a winning formula for capturing market share. In my experience, such a combination of skills, experience, and connections does provide the basis for a successful outcome. But after two years of fruitless searching for the right candidate, the organization’s leadership has all but given up hope of ever landing the talent they are looking for.
At the same time, the client does have an employee in that market who, with the right training and guidance from others in the organization, could grow into the position they are struggling to fill in one or two years. Thus, had we considered a different approach two years ago the problem would be solved already.
Filling/promoting from within is almost always a good strategy to pursue. In this case, by promoting a local into the role and providing that individual with the support they need, we would no longer need to search for the unicorn we have been thinking we need. Furthermore, by promoting from within, it affords us the opportunity to backfill the opening that the battlefield promotion would create, thereby affording another teammate the opportunity to advance.
It was during the midst of a conversation with one of the senior leaders in the client organization that it suddenly dawned on me that we had spent two years trying to address a problem with a singular solution when an alternative action would yield as good if not a better outcome in the long-run. Taking off the blinders that had been limiting our thoughts on and commitment to one possible path, it occurred to us that a different approach would allow us to achieve our objectives more quickly and for a smaller investment.
The moral of this tale is that we must be careful to avoid getting stuck in a rut and not seeing it for what it is – close-minded thinking that limits our capacity to see and consider others means of achieving our goals.
Soli Deo Gloria
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
J. Keith Hughey
Mobile: (210) 260-0955
E-mail: keith@jkeithhughey.com
Website: www.jkeithhughey.com
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