Three ways to see a quiet car wash

Three siblings run a car wash on the edge of Salalah, and business has gone quiet.

The eldest, who keeps the accounts, sees a price problem. Lower the price, he says, and cars will come back. The middle one studied computing and sees a visibility problem: people cannot find them, so they need a booking page and a map listing. The youngest spent a year working in a hotel and sees a service problem. Nobody offers the drivers a seat in the shade or a cold drink while they wait.

Each of them is looking through the instrument they already own. That is not foolish. A tool you know well is fast, and when it fits the problem it is the best thing you have.

The trouble starts when it does not fit and nobody notices, because from behind your own instrument every problem looks like the kind it was built to solve. The accountant will always find a number to move. The programmer will always find something to build.

Two habits help. The first is to name your own instrument out loud. I am the one who reaches for price. Once it has a name, you can pick it up on purpose, and you can also put it down on purpose.

The second is harder. Name the instruments other people use, especially the ones that feel unnatural to you, and try looking through them for a while. The eldest sibling does not think in terms of shade and a cold drink. That is exactly why he should sit in the waiting area for an afternoon and see what his youngest sister sees.

The fix may be in none of the three views. It is far more likely to be found by someone willing to borrow all of them.