Flying high.

• Author: Martinson, Bruce
• Position: In the Boardroom - Viewpoint essay

Flying has always been exciting for our family. During a trip to New England one summer, our young children were awestruck with the view from the plane window On this clear, sunny day, our 6-year old daughter Kia, excitedly peered out the window. Not long after take-off she remarked, "Look at all those toy houses and cars down there." My wife smiled as she explained that those are not toys but real houses and cars. To which Kia responded: "If they were real, they would be bigger."

How different the view is when flying high. It's this overview of roads and rivers, mountains and valleys, cities and farms that creates a picture quite different than seen from the ground. Yes, big things get smaller, but the view becomes unobstructed. Our eyes can focus on a much larger and overall picture of the landscape than the Limited view from the ground.

The facilitator at our last strategic planning retreat gave us the following advice: Fly at 60,000 feet. That is, keep the board room focus on issues that require a broader view and let management concentrate on the lower levels--besides, that's their job.

Do you recall the first pictures of earth from space? Truly amazing--it gave us a completely different perspective of our earth. The surroundings that seemed so large and powerful became minute in the perspective of the whole world picture. Ground level views can do that-distorting the significance within the realm of the overall picture.

We have all been part of a discussion in the board room where we have gotten down on the ground in the weeds. Usually it's a very counter-productive exercise. For example, does it really matter if the office printer is this brand or that brand? Certainly, this is not an issue that will have much of an impact, if any, on our mission to provide reliable and cost-effective electricity to our customers.

As directors we are charged to set the mission of our organization and to oversee its overall...