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Johari’s Window: How to Know Your Business to Improve it

Johari’s window is a useful tool to meet ourselves and our relationships with others. It was created by psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham in the mid -twentieth century.

Building a Johari window for our business

In addition to that main utility, it is a very interesting technique in the business world. It allows us to improve our capacity for internal analysis and external communication.

How can we build a Johari window for our business in a simple way?

The first step would be to describe for ourselves how we believe our business is. Next, we can ask other people how they perceive it. Then we would compare the differences in a four -quadrants window like the following.

Johari window in business

In business management, an interesting aspect is that we can repeat that same exercise with different groups. That “we” can be the management of the company, that of an apartment or any set of people who are part of the organization. And “the others” can be a panel of experts, people working in other departments, consumers …

What does each quadrant of the Johari window represent for the company?

Let’s see what each of the quadrants of the Johari window transmits to us.

Public Area

In this area we find those aspects of the brand image that represent the reality of the business. The most useful thing is to see how it evolves by comparing two Johari windows of different moments. Thus we can see how our activity is coming among the public.

Johari window in the company

The projection to the future is also very important in communication work and in stakeholder analysis. We have to keep in mind everything that our interlocutors or recipients know that it works badly and we must be able to move plans to improve. For its part, notorious strengths are a point of support in communication work. However, we cannot abuse them. The public already knows them and their curiosity will focus on the most unknown aspects of our activity. 

Hidden area

This window should subdivide it into three parts. On the one hand, there is the secret part, that is, all confidential information. We must know what competitive advantages gives us, what risks would mean its discovery, what elements can threaten it and how we can defend ourselves. On the other hand, there are all the internal details that do not interest third parties. However, that can evolve over time.

An example is industrial manufacturing processes. The public every day is interested in new details about their safety, environmental control, effects on workers’ health, etc. It should be clear that they are aspects of our work that one day can be essential to explain. Finally, we find all the hidden potentialities of our business. Some can move in a simple way. Others, however, will require a convincing signal, such as having an award, a certification, good third -party references, a good digital reputation, etc.

Blind area

It shows us the need to interact with the environment and learn through others. That is especially useful at the beginning of an entrepreneurial project. The lack of background can lead to underestimate or overestimate the value of our work.

Thinking about Johari’s window

Another important aspect is to analyze who the people or entities are that are previously aware of fundamental features of our business that we are escaped. At the same time, it is convenient to understand why we know them with delay.

Unknown area

On the one hand, it represents the latent threats of which no one has yet become aware. We talk about inadvertent errors and negative features that can bring future consequences. And, on the other hand, we find the unknown potential. Since we are not able to glimpse them, a learning and discovery process will be necessary. As a general rule, the interaction with third people will help us understand them and, at the same time, to make them known.

Johari’s window is a good opportunity to improve the company through communication with others.

Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Marco Polo is the admin of sparebusiness.com. He is dedicated to provide informative news about all kind of business, finance, technology, digital marketing, real estate etc.
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