Two young gold fish were swimming along and they met an older fish, who said “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” One of the young gold fish looks over at the other and said “What the hell is water?”
This was a story shared by the late, great David Foster Wallace a brilliant American writer. Wallace said the point of the fish story is that the most obvious, ubiquitous, important realities are often the ones that are the hardest to see and talk about.
That is why the new kid on the block, has the bright ideas, or new recruits see so much opportunity for change or innovation. So how do we in our daily environments make the invisible (water) visible?
- Get a mentor or a coach who can see what you can’t see
- Run your business issue past a friend or trusted advisor from a completely different industry. If you are a scientist, ask an artist’s opinion. If you are an economist, work with a poet. Get someone who has a completely different perspective and discipline to you
- Cultivate the mavericks in your organisations, the rebels and the people who always play devil’s advocate – remember they can see the water, where most people can’t. So no matter how irritating they might be, they have a valuable view point to contribute.
What are your strategies for seeing the water? Please comment I love hearing from you.
![](https://yamininaidu.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Story-Mastery-Book-1-270x300.png)
Story Mastery
Discover stories from leaders like you, who have applied these simple steps and achieved career-defining business results. Storytelling is not a natural gift, but a skill you can learn.
Recent Posts
You Won’t Believe What I Saw in the Park
![Featured image for “My name is Yamini Naidu, and I’m an addict”](https://yamininaidu.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/edward-howell-gM7hANhGSBU-unsplash-scaled.jpg)
My name is Yamini Naidu, and I’m an addict
![Featured image for “One power move for every time you present”](https://yamininaidu.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/chris-tweten-FK-UKNip0pE-unsplash-scaled.jpg)
One power move for every time you present
![Featured image for “Fascinating, but I’m not sure I could – can you?”](https://yamininaidu.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/May-Copyright-Beth-Jennings-Photography-2016_Yamini-Naidu_WEB-6878.jpg)
Fascinating, but I’m not sure I could – can you?
![Featured image for “One technique that changed my presentations forever”](https://yamininaidu.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Laughing-side-eye-Copyright-Beth-Jennings-Photography-2016_Yamini-Naidu_WEB-6792.jpg)
One technique that changed my presentations forever
![Featured image for “I went psycho in the gym this morning”](https://yamininaidu.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Side-Copyright-Beth-Jennings-Photography-2016_Yamini-Naidu_WEB-6775.jpg)
I went psycho in the gym this morning
Categories
- Books2
- Business storytelling articles37
- Business storytelling examples47
- Business storytelling techniques75
- Business Storytelling training64
- Case Study5
- Conference Speaker3
- Examples of Story66
- Inspiration33
- Interview with…7
- Latest Posts185
- Life hacks3
- Presentation Skills17
- Speaking11
- Technology3
- Thoughts111
- Uncategorized3
- X Factor12