The Power of Invisible Business

Guest Post By Josh Allan Dykstra

It’s easy to overlook invisible things.

After all, by definition we can’t see them.

But there are plenty of invisible things which cause real, tangible effects.

Wind.
Rules.
Emotions.
Biases.

What we often forget is that the majority of business is invisible, too. Much of our work happens behind the scenes, out of sight.

This “invisible” side of business occurs in two places:

1.    In our minds. Our perspective on whatever we’re doing is completely invisible, but has a powerful impact on the results we achieve. Our thoughts really do become things.

2.    In the systems of our organization. All groups have processes, rules, and structures. At some point, all these things were created by a human being — many times haphazardly, often times badly, sometimes accidentally. These invisible boundaries dictate how we interact with each other at work.

(More than that, did you know that 80% of the value of your business is made up of invisible things like culture, morale, talent, a strong brand, meaning, and engagement?)*

In our work, as everywhere else, invisible things have a tremendous impact. But we don’t pay attention to many of these things, and they wreak havoc on our wellbeing because we forget they are there — and that they are powerful.

If we were to recognize them, though, I suspect the world might be different. If we would turn our focus towards the invisible, could we adjust these things to be life-giving instead of life-sucking? Could we create a better future for ourselves, individually? Could we design energizing work environments, collectively?

I think we can.

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*Read more about this in the book Human Sigma.