it had raised the quality of ice creams, not only those of the
company’s own manufacture but of others too.
The manager I was talking to worked for a division of Mars
that sold ice cream to countries including Africa, India, and the
United Arab Emirates. One of the factors influencing the quality
of the ice cream is the temperature at which it is kept. If this is
too high, the quality of the ice cream deteriorates. In the UK
there are strict controls on the conditions in which food produce
must be kept, but this is not the case in some other countries. To
guarantee the condition of the ice cream, Mars decided to
provide those countries with freezers in which to keep it. The
regulation temperature for ice cream in the UK is –18°C. The
Mars freezers are set to keep the ice cream at a temperature of
–25°C. The company owns these freezers and recognizes that to
ensure the quality of the product it must manage the product
environment.
Coincidentally, we were having problems with a hotel booked
by one of our clients for a series of courses we were running. I
applied the Mars thinking to the problems we were
experiencing. The Mars situation acted as a metaphor for my
experience with the hotel: The freezer was the environment for
the ice cream, just as the hotel was the environment for the
training. To ensure the quality of the training we needed to
ensure the quality of the hotel, especially in one that we hadn't
personally selected. The result has been that we now provide
free training for the staff of the hotels in which we do the work.
This is appreciated by the staff and of course helps to ensure
the quality of the training: A win/win situation.
Subsequently I have generalized that metaphor to explore
ways in which I can support all of my contacts—my clients, my
colleagues, my suppliers, my “competition,” and anyone else
with whom I come into contact—to thrive. So a metaphor is a
way of transferring learning both into other different contexts
in your life and across contexts as a principle for your
business.
Thinking metaphorically can generate many new and
different ideas that will benefit you and everyone in your life.
Metaphorical thinkingMETAPHOR: THE KEY TO THE UNCONSCIOUS MIND 131