So, why do we experience blind spots?

1. The assumption most people make

We tend to believe blind spots happen because people miss things.

We assume:

• If we had more information
• If people paid more attention
• If the team communicated better

…then the problem would disappear.

It sounds reasonable.

But it is wrong.

Because in most situations, the information already exists. People are not blind in isolation. They are operating within a system.

Which raises a more useful question:

If people are informed and capable, why do obvious issues still go unnoticed?

2. What is actually happening beneath the surface

To understand this, we need to shift perspective.

Every situation—whether in organisations, families, or society—is a multi-player game.

In this “game”:

• Each person has their own goal
• Each person sees part of reality
• Each person makes decisions to succeed in their own context

This is not dysfunction. This is normal behaviour.

But here is the issue:

Everyone is playing rationally. Just not the same game.

3. The role of “different games” (Game Theory in simple terms)

Think of a workplace scenario.

A finance leader is focused on cost control.
An operations manager is focused on speed.
A technology lead is focused on stability.

Each is making good decisions:

• Finance pushes for budget discipline
• Operations pushes for faster execution
• Technology pushes for risk reduction

Individually, all of this makes sense.

But collectively:

• Costs get reduced at the expense of capability
• Speed increases without control
• Stability slows down progress

No one is wrong.

Yet the outcome is suboptimal.

This is the core idea from game theory:
When multiple players optimise their own outcomes, the system does not automatically optimise as a whole.

And this is where blind spots begin to form.

4. Why blind spots are inevitable in this setup

Once people are playing different games, three things naturally happen.

A. Partial visibility

Each person sees only what is relevant to their role.

For example:

• A project manager sees timelines
• A user sees usability issues
• A vendor sees delivery milestones

No one sees the entire system.

B. Information does not fully travel

Even when information exists, it does not move freely.

Why?

• It may not seem relevant to others
• It may create friction if raised
• It may not align with someone’s priorities

So information remains fragmented.

C. Rational behaviour creates unintended gaps

People act logically based on:

• What they are measured on
• What they are responsible for

For instance:

• A team may avoid raising a risk because it delays progress
• A manager may approve something quickly to meet deadlines

These are rational decisions.

But collectively:

They create gaps that no one owns.

5. What a blind spot really is

At this point, the definition becomes clearer.

A blind spot is not a failure of intelligence or effort.

It is:

A gap created when individually correct decisions fail to produce a complete picture of reality.

The truth exists.

But it is scattered across people, roles, and priorities.

And no one is responsible for assembling it.

6. A simple everyday example

Consider planning a family holiday.

One person focuses on budget.
Another on comfort.
Another on timing.
Another on experience.

Each contributes something valuable.

But without someone integrating all inputs:

• The cheapest option may be exhausting
• The most comfortable option may be too expensive
• The fastest option may miss the purpose of the trip

Everyone did their part.

Yet the best outcome was missed.

That missed outcome is the blind spot.

7. Why this matters more than it seems

Blind spots do not just create small inefficiencies.

They lead to:

• Poor decisions that look correct at the time
• Missed risks that appear obvious later
• Frustration between people who believe they are doing the right thing

Over time, this creates:

• Rework
• Misalignment
• Loss of trust

And the common reaction is to blame individuals.

But the issue is not the people.

It is the structure of the game they are playing.

8. The critical shift in thinking

Most attempts to fix blind spots focus on:

• More meetings
• More reports
• More communication

These help, but they do not solve the root problem.

Because the real issue is:

There is no mechanism to bring different perspectives into a single, shared understanding.

Without that:

• People continue to optimise locally
• The system continues to underperform globally

9. What actually reduces blind spots

To reduce blind spots, the approach must change.

Instead of asking:

• “Who missed this?”

We should ask:

• “How is the system designed to bring all perspectives together?”

This means:

• Clarifying shared goals
• Making information visible across roles
• Creating decision processes that consider the full picture

In simple terms:

Someone—or something—must be responsible for seeing the whole.

10. Final thought

Blind spots are not accidental.

They are a natural outcome of:

• Different goals
• Different information
• Rational decisions

All happening at the same time.

The problem is not that people cannot see.

The problem is that no one is responsible for seeing everything together.

Once that is understood, blind spots stop being surprising.

They become predictable—and therefore, preventable.