This is a quote which I think is from Tom Daschle, but not sure if it’s his originally, as it’s been around a while. But it’s a thought provoking way of emphasising how we should focus on the future. Yes we should be able to see and learn from the past, but the view ahead is much bigger.
I know we know we should think ahead, but it sometimes takes little quotes to remind us that we need to keep our view to the road ahead and not dwell too long on the past.
The windshield being so much bigger alludes to the idea that the future is much more important than the past. One way a manager could use this, is to ensure any of our team members who make a mistake learn from it, but then move on. We encourage them to focus on the future. Perhaps we can give them tasks which help them to do this. Keep them busy and engaged with not too much time for looking back.
If one of our colleagues has suffered a setback, the saying can also remind us to help them to look to the future. We can share coffee or lunch and support them to keep busy.
Another way to interpret the saying is that the way ahead has so many choices compared to the past. Whichever way we choose to interpret the saying it is a useful reminder to stay focused on that which we can influence = the future.
The windshield is bigger than the rear view mirror