Every day we use mirrors to reflect our image. We check our grooming, our clothing, our outward persona before going out into the world each day, but we don?t get an honest reflection. The vision we see is clouded by our own self-image or what we want to believe ourselves to be.

Remember the wicked witch in the fable ?Snow White?? Her magic mirror gave honest, objective feedback and, when she found out she was no longer the ?fairest in the land,? she attempted to do something about it. It didn?t work out well for the Wicked Witch, but at least she had objective data to act upon.

Does your company have a method of obtaining objective data? Can you check a ?magic mirror? to discover whether your image, product quality, pricing, and customer service is the ?fairest in the land?? Can you ask and get objective answers to your ideas for a new advertising campaign or a new product introduction? If you can?t locate a ?magic mirror? then you will have to use an alternative source.

One useful method is to create a ?Client Board of Advisors? or ?R & D Team.? Invite some clients whose opinions you respect. Ask them if they would respond to a survey (email makes it easy), focus group, or a group meeting (live or on the telephone). Many people will do this on a volunteer basis if you are just asking for them to answer a few questions but if you are requesting that they attend a meeting (or a series of meetings), you might offer a reasonable payment or a donation to a charity to compensate them for their time and talent.

You will be amazed at the feedback you receive. You will probably discover new aspects of thinking about your company, its products, and services - that there are improvements you can make that you have never considered. Think of a ?magic mirror? being just an objective outsider. If you utilize the talents of an ?R & D Team? you will soon be the ?fairest in the land.?

Larry Galler coaches and consults with high-performance executives, professionals, and small businesses since 1993. He is the writer of the long-running (every Sunday since November 2001) business column, "Front Lines with Larry Galler" Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.larrygaller.com Questions??? Send an email to larry@larrygaller.com

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