Our post-Christmas family gathering goal for the morning was to see Boston from the observation deck on the 52^nd floor of the 52-story Prudential Tower, “The Pru”, the second tallest building in Boston. The observation floor is the highest such location in New England open to the public. The 51^st floor includes a bar and outside observation deck; the 50^th floor includes a restaurant.

As we approached the building, we could see that the top floors of the building were obscured by fog.

When we arrived on the 52^nd floor, the Pru team members greeted us: “We’re sorry, this is like being inside a cotton ball. Did they tell you downstairs that you could exchange your tickets for another day?”

They had. “Not to worry,” we replied. “We’ll see what we can see.”

Which, for the first 30 minutes was pretty much nothing. Like being inside a cotton ball. For fleeting seconds at a time, looking north and west, we could see morsels of the Charles River, the Back Bay streets, and brownstone buildings…. But not much.

After a bit, one of us suggested, “Why don’t we go down one or two floors, maybe the view will be better.”

We click-clacked down the stairs to the 50^th floor thinking that we could explore the interactive exhibits and check out the restaurant…. and… amazing! While the 52^nd floor was still fogged in, we could see clearly in all directions from the 50^th floor.

Yup. Sometimes, when we are “fogged in” or “fogged out” at the top of a building or an organization – we can’t get access, engage, or gain perspective, it can make sense to drop down a couple of levels to where we can get the view and see the landmarks and continue to move toward our objectives.

Nick Miller is President of Clarity Advantage based in Concord, MA. He assists banks and credit unions to generate more and more profitable relationships, faster, with business clients, their owners, and their employees through better sales strategies and execution. Additional articles on Clarity’s web site.