Have you ever felt like you're swimming against the current in your organisation? Like there's something just beyond your grasp, influencing everything, yet impossible to pin down? Let's pause for a moment and consider a different way of looking at things.

Imagine you're a fish, gliding through your daily routine. Another fish swims by and asks, "How's the water today?" You might find yourself thinking, "Water? What water?" This little scenario, inspired by David Foster Wallace, hints at something profound about our organisations. 

As leaders and change-makers, we're often drawn to the tangible – numbers, processes, structures. We analyze, strategize, and implement. But what if we're missing something essential? What if there's a whole world of influence right in front of us, as invisible as water to a fish? 

This is where an anthropologist's perspective can be eye-opening. While economists and data analysts look at the numbers, anthropologists observe the spaces between people – the unspoken rules, shared stories, and invisible currents that shape our organisational lives.

It's a bit like learning to see the water we swim in. You can't always observe it directly, but you can notice its effects:

• The way certain ideas seem to 'flow' easily through the organisation
• How some teams seem to 'swim' effortlessly while others struggle against the current
• The 'hidden undercurrents' of office politics and informal power structures 

These cultural currents are always there, shaping decisions, relationships, and outcomes. They're the "water" we swim in every day, often without noticing.

So, the next time you're puzzling over a persistent challenge or an inexplicable resistance to change, try on the anthropologist's lens. Step back and observe. What unseen currents might be at play? What stories are being told? What unspoken rules are guiding behavior?

You might just find that this new perspective helps you see solutions that were there all along, hidden in plain sight. After all, sometimes the most powerful insights come not from analyzing harder, but from looking at things differently.