Creativity in Business Using Johari’s Window
Wednesday, December 23, 2009 19:37Many will be familiar with the Johari Window concept. It was a tool of understanding developed by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham in 1955. It is still used widely today, in all walks of life. Its importance in management has not diminished over time.
Johari’s Window is mainly visualized in the form of a four sector quadrant. Imagine a window divided into four. Down the left side is the axis “known or unknown to self” and across the top is the axis “known or unknown to others”. In this way, each of the four sectors can be individually labeled “known to self and others,” known to self and not to others,” “not known to self but known to others” and “neither known to self or others.” Thus everything, including issues involving a company or business can be described in this way.
For example, a business may have made it public that their profits have risen by 15% in the past year. This is known to self and to others (it is public knowledge). A forthcoming redundancy may be known to the company but not to the recipient(s) of the bad news. Likewise, others may know something about the company that is yet unknown to the company itself (for instance, local property developments). But, the biggest, most important and most creative sector is that which is neither known by the self or by others. This sector, alone, can help break into areas of expansion and growth that the company never thought possible (and that competitors would never have developed).
I like to think of this by relating it to traditional offline businesses. Many local businesses rely on passing trade and local recommendations. Most never consider having an online presence and if they do it is simply a basic information website. But, imagine what could and would happen if an offline business (including such businesses as plumbers, hair salons, chiropractors) captured the customers that are searching the internet every day for the services these businesses provide. Imagine, if when someone searched for hair salons in Maine, your company came up before their eyes. The next thing is a phone call and an appointment is made.
That online customer has, through your creativity, become not only an offline customer but also a potential satisfied offline testimonial for your future trade. If you and your competitors were unaware of this vast potential of vision, then you have been in the fourth sector of Johari’s Window.
