Closing in on three years with my current employer. At first, things were new! and different! and I had to expend great energy to adapt to the quirks of the new environment: different people, work flows, org structures, and of course, new products.

Those were interesting times. Here I was, head full of the great (and lame) things that I experienced with my old job at Wells Fargo, now tapped into the pulse of Bank of America’s user experience design group. My eyes were fresh, my hopes and expectations not yet re-formatted (crushed?) by the new ‘realities’.

The upside of this temporary naivety? Fresh eyes. That is, having not yet been indoctrinated into the new environment and culture, and having still-vibrant recollection of life in my old organization, I brought new ways of looking at things, a temporary condition that comes to an apex maybe 6-12 months into such an experience. That moment one has learned enough about the new reality, yet still have strong memories of past experiences that ideas of new, better ways to do things still flow freely.

But the window of opportunity does not last forever. Eventually, soon, the organizational structure, politics, brow beatings and red tape of the new reality become routine. Aspirations of change, improvement, or flat-out new ways of looking at people, products, or problems begin to dissipate, overtaken by numbness and apathy. The once-fresh eyes grow stale, the voice of change grows muted, and the great velvet tomb begins to encase you, as you grow comfortable with the ‘way things are done around here’.

The iPhone is a great example of this phenomenon, on an industrial scale. A year and a half ago, before anyone had seen Apple’s seminal new device, blogs, newspapers, and magazines were full of naysaying cellphone industry executives and pundits proclaiming that their business was tough and complicated. That some newcomer (Apple) was going to face some hard knocks climbing the handset mountain.

Oh really? Apple, with a fresh perspective on the industry, and of course bringing their own sense of independence, innovation, and the crucial lack of indoctrination into the old ways, changed the game.

Carrier-dictated feature set? No. Traditional retailing and activation model? Gone. Mini plastic keyboard? Never. More of the same? Haha. Instead, Apple has created a revolution in “phones,” transforming a lumbering industry into a sexy, dynamic, and culturally important sector.

Yes, a huge amount of that is due to Apple’s unique talents. But as a reference to my overarching point, it is clear that only Apple could have done it, not only because of their skills, but just as importantly because of their fresh eyes. I have no doubt that Motorola, Nokia, Sony, and others are full of technically brilliant engineers and artistically gifted designers. And possibly even executives capable of great vision, willing to take massive risk.

But none of that matters, because all of them bought into the cellphone industry orthodoxy: carriers dictate features, smartphones must have Qwerty keyboards, it’s ok if mobile browsers completely suck.

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This model can apply in any aspect of life: Political campaigns (people-powered vs. top-down), industry, socializing (the new kid at school), family matters, and especially, most commonly, within corporate work environments, which are made up of a constantly shifting blend of employees, managers, and organizational charts.

What can be done?

Tapping that vein of inspiration, during the time of optimal value is crucial. Once the window closes, the opportunity is lost. Moreover, an organization that values and acts upon the visions of the Fresh Eye is likely to foster a more dynamic culture which can evolve into a self-sustaining environment of innovation, and thus stave off the seemingly always-inevitable descent into the ruts of routine.

Give the Fresh Eyes a voice! New employees ought to be seen as the trove of ideating treasure that they are. Round tables, process improvement teams, associate satisfaction surveys: new employees deserve a place in any effort such as these. And best of all, heeding their ideas will help build an employee with more investment in your business, and foster great morale to boot.

Don’t let those fresh eyes go stale.