CEO’s and business leaders: Are you wasting time and money on fixing the wrong problem?

You started your business or career because you wanted to really make a difference to your life and the life of others. However despite all of the hard work you’ve put into growing your business or career, you’re feeling overwhelmed, you lack direction and are simply not achieving what you set out to do. Even worse you know that you haven’t even tapped into your full potential.

You are not alone, and sadly many people remain stuck and frustrated, and end up spending time and money on fixing the wrong things in their business and organisations, ending up feeling even more frustrated.

I’ve created a 3-part article series which identify the key things you MUST get clear on so you can get out of overwhelm and into strategic action.

Here are the links to the full series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

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Part 2: CEO’s and business leaders: Are you wasting time and money on fixing the wrong problem?

Every day I will have a business leader say to me “Well Carmen the problem is X, and to fix it we need to do abc.” and within a very brief period of exploration we found that the problem was not X it was Y. And it get’s me thinking of the time/energy/money/pain that would have gone into fixing problem X!

When we have a problem that is stopping us from achieving what we want, it is painful and we want to fix it as soon as possible. Unfortunately, this leads many business to forge ahead implementing changes that cost money and time. And worst of all not fixing the problem in the first place. Sometimes making it worse!

At Strategic Action Consulting we facilitate and upskill organisations to collect the relevant information quickly, make a decision and then take fast powerful action. Here are some tips on how you can take Strategic Action within your organisation.

Determine your destination?

When people think of strategy, they often groan and think of an old document that sits on the shelf (or these days the intranet) that took ages to create and was outdated the day it was published. When we think of strategy at Strategic Action Consulting we think of your guiding light, your destination, your vision. Without this we could go visit many interesting places but not where you really want to go. At Strategic Action Consulting we move away from the old crusty document and embed your strategy into every day practice, get your team rowing to the same destination.

Have a foundation of emotional intelligence

Emotional Intelligence seems to be the buzz word going around at the moment, but what is it? It is about really understanding what makes you tick, what makes the people around you tick (and yes they are different) and then understanding how to interact. Emotional intelligence is so valuable that Australian CEO’s say it is more important that technical skills. Responding to change and solving problems requires a high level of courage, communication and team work, aka Emotional Intelligence. You can grow your emotional intelligence by observing others, completing personality profiles and reflecting, however if you want to excel and turbo charge your business/career/team then coaching is a no-brainer.

Identify Problems and identify sponsor

Every staff member in your organisation has a unique perspective of the problems/ opportunities that exit. Whether it is from the front line or a manager with a helicopter view. Identification and communication of problems should be encouraged strongly. If a manager identifies a problem that is within their remit to resolve, they should proceed to remedy that problem. However if a problem is larger (either in scope or risk) then it is essential that the problem is escalated to the appropriate decision maker (usually an Executive or CEO). That decision maker will then either accept the risk that the problem poses or become the sponsor by identifying a resource to prepare strategic options. The resource should be given access to all the information currently available including the sponsors impressions and preferences.

Prepare Strategic Options

The world is awash with data, information, reports and opinions and there is a risk of information overload. When collating information, ask yourself “How does this inform decision making?”. To get to the route of the problem use techniques (including the 5 Why’s) and keep an open mind. The problems and solutions are often not what you first think.

Present the sponsor in person with a very brief report summarising all the key points that inform decision making and outline no more than 3 options in order of preference. Be prepared to speak to any point on the report and have all the detailed information handy should it become relevant.

Make a decision

Making a decision, sounds simple, unfortunately this is where many leaders fall down. They want absolute certainty that this is the ‘right decision’, they want more and more information, and often the culture of the organisation does not support changing a decision down the track. However if you want your organisation to be responsive to change, decision making is mandatory.

These decisions could include:

•  Selecting an option
• Select an option with a twist
• Decide not to act and accept risk
• Defer decision making until a certain bit of extra information is available

Do not leave the meeting without a clear decision and way forward.

Take action…but keep your head up

Now it is time to act!

Project managers love the acting stage, creating gant charts, committees etc. But during this stage it is important to keep your head up. Keep collecting new information, keep taking the birds eye view and questioning if the action you are taking is still the best course of action. Have regular brief 1:1 catch up’s with the project manager and sponsor to review any new information and change course if required. Many organisations talk-the-talk when it comes to reviewing and changing past decision (‘failing fast’, ‘falling forward’ etc) but very few live it. This is short sited, changing a decision (for good reason) should be celebrated!

In this fast moving world the old school paradigm of strategy and project management simply will not suffice. Spending money and time of fixing the wrong problem and the subsequent opportunity cost will render you non-competitive. Remaining responsive, by investing in emotional intelligence, quick and efficient synthesis of information, adaptive decision making and powerful actions is the way to move into the future.

Have you wasted time and money on fixing the wrong problem and are unsure of the best way forward? We offer a limited number of FREE Strategic Action Discovery Session to new companies. To book visit: https://www.strategicaction.consulting

Want to read more? Check out Part 1 and Part 3.