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The Problems with Problem Solving

By Ron Price

One of the primary jobs of a leader is solving problems. We often joke that if all the problems went away, we would be unemployed. Some problems are quick and easy to solve. Scheduling conflicts, customer complaints, and equipment failures are examples of problems we can often fix quickly and move on. However, there are also many problems that are much more complex and tedious to solve. It is these tougher problems that test and demonstrate our skills as problem-solving leaders.

In The Complete Leader, Randy Lisk and I wrote about two basic kinds of problems that leaders encounter on a regular basis. The first are linear problems. These are problems that have a clear root cause. By applying a scientific approach, whether asking “why” over and over again until you uncover the original cause, or by completing a more complex root cause analysis such as the fishbone model of identifying several potential contributors, one or more causes can be identified and solved. This is often the work of process engineers and is most effectively applied with problems are primarily connected with tangible parts, processes and results.

My Team Isn’t Working Together Well

By Dr. Francis Eberle

I have heard some version of this many times from clients over the years. Leaders often tell me that a team isn’t as effective as they once were, team members don’t want to participate, or they need more cooperation so they can move faster.

Many leaders forget that teams are fluid. What I mean is they change over time due to variable factors. These can be things like someone joining or leaving the team, projects changing dramatically, tasks becoming routine, fear about job safety due to changing market forces, or more. All of these dynamics impact the people on a team and their performance.

Teams are more important now than they have been in the past, partly because problems are more complex than they have been in the past. Solving them requires multiple perspectives and experiences.

Focus on Value-Creating Investments

By Dr. Evans Baiya

One of the challenges for growing a company is knowing exactly where to focus your investment, time and resources. When you introduce a new value (innovation) to the market, there are many processes you must have in place such as sales, marketing, delivery, and of course financial processes. These all require investment in the form of money, people, effort and research.

One of the biggest mistakes that companies make is to try to invest in all of these processes right away. Remember, to invest in an operational system requires a lot of resources. It takes up the leader’s time. This is time you should be spending on delivering increased value to customers. It is impossible for an entrepreneur to do everything early on, so the tendency is to have a bulky budget and to hire people to help you do all these things. This leads to a variety of issues: getting into early debt, promising features to potential customers that you cannot deliver, even getting paid but losing money. This can be a fundamental problem.

Working InSync and Price Associates Join Forces

Whit Mitchell, CEO and Founder of Working InSync, is pleased to announce that he has joined forces with Price Associates, bringing his years of executive coaching and team building experience to the team. The two companies have been working closely together on client projects for over 12 years. They will go forward operating under the Price Associates brand.

“Having been a crew coach, I strongly value teams, and working with the Price Associates team has been an excellent fit,” said Mitchell. “Our work together over the years has provided enhanced value and opportunity to both Working InSync and Price Associates clients. The Price team has a strong bench of knowledge and diversity, and I am proud to be a part of it.”

“We are very excited about this merger,” said Ron Price, CEO of Price Associates. “After our years of working together, it was a natural next step to officially join forces. Whit has brought a wealth of experience to the team at Price Associates, and I am honored to partner with him in an official capacity.” Read More

Dancing Down the Mountain: A Lesson in Change Management

By Lori McNeill

I recently took a trip to the mountains of Austria. My destination was a beautiful ski resort and my goal was to learn how to ski. In order to accomplish this goal, I enlisted the help of a talented ski instructor named Florian. What I eventually came to realize was the lessons I learned that week applied directly to change management.

On the first day, Florian and I worked at the very bottom of the mountain, as I learned the fundamentals of skiing. These were not hard concepts to learn, but it took practice and repetition to acquire the skills. After day 1 of practicing fundamentals on the bunny slope, we got on the lift to make our climb to my first challenge.

Looking down from the top of the lift, the incline appeared to be too steep for my ability. If I am completely honest, I will admit that tears were streaming down my face and I felt a sense of dread and defeat before we even started our descent. Read More

Trying Easy Rather Than Hard

By Jalene Case

From playing a sport to working a job, the phrase “trying hard” implies that we’re attempting to perform at our very best, pushing ourselves harder to go beyond our limits. Why? I believe it’s because we want to be successful on our own terms.

We receive accolades for trying hard: “She’s a hard worker.” “He’s trying hard to be the best leader he can be.” Yay for us! Most of the time. The problem comes when trying imperceptibly slips from positive to negative.

On the positive side, trying drives us to go all-in toward what we truly want to accomplish. It feels light, invigorating, and clear, like we know what we want and how to get it.

On the negative side, trying forces us to do what we think we should do (a hallmark red flag!) which causes overcomplication and stress. It feels heavy, tense, and anxiety ridden with a tinge of panic, ready to explode at any moment.

6 Steps to a Strategy that Works

By Lori McNeill

I recently worked with a client regarding their strategy for the upcoming year. I started by asking them to share their current year’s strategy, goals and outcomes. We reviewed the data and although there had been progress, they had faced challenges along the way and struggled to accomplish all that they originally set out to do. After a bit of probing, we were able to identify what went wrong in the process, and discovered a number of mistakes that could have been avoided. The CEO and executive team members said that if they would have utilized the six-step framework outlined below, they would have progressed even further and could have avoided some of those mistakes that cost them time, money and wasted resources.

The ability to develop a winning strategy is a critical success factor for all organizations. First, let’s define what a “winning” strategy is and is not. Strategy does not equal goals. It is very important to make that distinction. Goals are what a leader wants to achieve and strategy is how the leader plans to accomplish those goals.

Why “Culture Starts at the Top” Is Not Enough

By Holly Mitchell & Jaime Lisk

You have likely heard the phrase, “Culture starts at the top.” While there is certainly merit to this statement, it’s not the full story. Organizational culture is shaped by shared patterns of values and behaviors that define the social and psychological environment within a group. You see “culture” everywhere—within your family, friends, fitness studio, department, and certainly in your company overall. The first step is acknowledging the culture. Then you must decide: Is this our desired culture or is there work to be done?

As a leader, it’s important to understand the sphere of influence you have over shaping the culture of your organization. Top-level leadership has the most influential, long-term impact on workplace culture. The decisions you make, behaviors you choose to ignore, and the way you walk, talk, and dress all impact the culture. When leaders are working in sync and living out the tenants of the desired culture, it won’t go unnoticed by the rest of the organization.

Three Questions to Sharpen Your Vision

By Dr. Jeremy Graves

Vision. Even the word can seem overwhelming to some. What is our vision? How will I know if my vision is in alignment with my organizational needs? How do I ensure clarity throughout my organization around vision? Do those within my organization even understand the vision? These are the types of questions that keep many leaders awake at night.

The need for vision clarity is paramount for any organization, leader, or team. But how do you go about creating a vision that is sticky and moves beyond words on a paper to behaviors that can ultimately transform your organization?

It Begins with Clarity
How detailed is your vision? Vision is most powerful when it is both specific and engaging. It comes alive in an organization when it connects people to something bigger than themselves. If it doesn’t, the vision is not shaping the company culture, but rather is in danger of being shaped by the loudest voice in the room—and sometimes that voice is not the voice you want shaping the vision. So how do you ensure clarity? Here are three questions to consider when determining your vision.

What do you REALLY want?

The ONE Thing That Can Change Everything…

By Patrick Ensign

What do you want most for your business, your family…and you? How do all of these wants align with the actual work you do and the decisions you are making for your company?

Asking yourself these questions is the first step to gaining clarity. When you have clarity about what you are working towards, you are able to both prioritize and naturally align with those life/business practices that are effective in achieving your goal.

Whether you are a business owner, leader or professional at any level, you have heard the stats by Forbes:

40% of people are planning on switching jobs next year.
69% of employees are searching for a new position while on the clock with your organization.

Does it sound like these employees are effectively serving customers, crushing company goals, or engaged in the organization’s culture? Seeing that people are the single greatest factor in the success or decline of an organization, it would seem there is a big problem.

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The Problems with Problem Solving

My Team Isn’t Working Together Well

Focus on Value-Creating Investments

Working InSync and Price Associates Join Forces

Dancing Down the Mountain: A Lesson in Change Management

Trying Easy Rather Than Hard

6 Steps to a Strategy that Works

Why “Culture Starts at the Top” Is Not Enough

Three Questions to Sharpen Your Vision

What do you REALLY want?

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