In Look: A Practical Guide for Improving Your Observational Skills, Jim Gilmore provides and then examines what he characterizes as six “looking glasses” to help people to more fully and more richly observe the world around them.

The fourth is Microscope. Briefly, “Looking with a microscope involves looking for more for more and greater details [that would normally not be visible]. Rather than zeroing in on one particular point, microscope looking slides up and down, left and right, seeking to identify more features worth examining.”

Exempla:

o “Take your time and study all the details.”

o “Explore to the left and then to the right. Go up and then go down. Check in back and then in front. Peek inside and look outside. Look at the situation every which way you can.”

o “We need to examine every single little aspect of the device.”

o “Scrutinize every behavior and really see you is trying to hide their feelings.”

James Gilmore is co-founder of Strategic Horizons LLP and co-author of The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage, now published in 13 languages. He is also co-editor of Markets of One: Creating Customer-unique Value through Mass Customization, and Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want. Prior to founding Strategic Horizons LLP, Gilmore was head of CSC Consulting’s Process Innovation practice. His latest book, Look: A Practical Guide for Improving Your Observational Skills, was published by Greenleaf Book Group (August 2016).