II don’t know about you, but I enjoy solving problems. I consider it one of my gifts; to be able to see through the problems, issues, and data and find the root cause of an issue. Because of that, I have people constantly asking me how I solve problems. My answer is simple, to solve a problem start at the end.
You see, you have to know where you want to be, what “good looks like” before you can acknowledge that there is a problem in the first place. So start with what you need to see, the end result. What is that target? Once you have the target clearly defined, now you can say you have a problem if you aren’t delivering to it.
Next, I would challenge you to evaluate your target itself. We have to question if our target (goal, budget, plan, etc.) is what we truly should be aiming for. If you created a target for a pilot program, something you have never tried before in your business, you used an educated guess to establish that target. Before you can say something is wrong with your business because you aren’t hitting your target, ask yourself, now that you have more information from running the pilot for a period of time if the target is truly an accurate goal. Said differently, should you adjust your target now that you have more accurate information?
It could be that the business isn’t the issue, it’s a faulty target.
If you have a target in place, if it’s an accurate target, and it’s attainable, then you can start diving into your business to find the root cause of the issues. At that point, you then ask yourself: what are the components of my business that make up the actual number vs. the target. In other words, if your target is customer satisfaction, how many teams do you have that impact that satisfaction metric?
Once you understand the teams and the processes that could impact your metric, you are finally ready to look at each one and identify gaps that may exist in any or all of them.
This is how I problem-solve. It is a process, just like my AIR2 Framework strategy. I execute this methodology each time I run into it. this is how I problem-solve. I execute this methodology each time I run into a problem. Be it in relationships, business, or simply life in general. I start at the end and then I apply the AIR2 Framework.
How do you problem-solve? How do you know gaps exist in your business and once you discover them, how do you ensure you resolve the right issues? If you are unsure, consider letting Legend Leaders teach you the AIR2 Framework.
Be Legendary!