The idiom, "you can't see the forest through the trees," highlights our propensity to let a narrow focus on details obscure our ability to see the big picture. This problem plagues leaders at organizations big and small. Just listen closely as executives say things like, "How can we meet our earnings forecast next quarter?" or "How do we drive success against our KPIs?" or "Let's not cannibalize our core business." While they fixate over the corporate trees they miss innovative competitors sparking new ideas that just might burn down their forests.
