I do come from a textile background, but today I am not referring to an actual design pattern. Nope, I am talking about an interruption in our own thoughts. Sometimes these can be distracting, like when we see a shiny object, or a squirrel, or something else that takes our mind off of what we need to be doing. These are the pattern interrupts that gets the most press.
I want to talk about the other side of this issue for a moment. My broker will on occasion, talk to her agents about things that makes her tear up. We have an agent that will start waving his hands wildly in the audience. It is a pattern interrupt. It makes my broker smile and interrupts the tears before they really start to flow.
Yesterday, I saw another valuable interrupt. An agent in our office had had a particularly rough morning. I saw her walking down the hall and asked her to join a group of us for lunch. She initially declined, saying she still had much work to do. Being one that hates the word "No", I finally convinced her to join us. We all had a great time at lunch and laughed much. It was a needed pattern interrupt for this agent. Once we came back she said thanks so much. Feeling much better , I believe she accomplished much more that afternoon than she would have if she had stayed in the office.
Do you have a pattern interrupt you use in your business? How about a break from the grind for a short walk. What about your clients? Are they having a hard time making decisions? How about a trip to the local ice cream shop or coffee shop to forget about decisions for 30 minutes? I find that pattern interrupts can be very helpful if used correctly.
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