The Problem Is(n’t)

I’ve been mulling over this post for a while, but one of the reasons I’m putting pen to paper now is because of the recent plebiscite vote in Calgary for the Olympic bid. Cue the disclaimer: I was and am a very firm Yes vote. At present, I’m saddened by our apparent lack of solution-based thinking and a general pessimistic view to the future. My stance on the Calgary Olympic bid is one that I’m very open to discussing but won’t cloud the water with in this post. Suffice to say that one of the reasons (other than my wife) that I was drawn to Calgary was the optimistic nature and the way most people thought (past tense) about opportunity, excitement and life in general. And unfortunately for us, it appears that the economic environment and other factors have permeated that optimism and is starting to shift it away to a more pessimistic one. Which…is why I would like to highlight this topic.         

As we grow our business, we have become very conscious of the way we speak and the way we act and how our team speaks and acts. As a decently self-aware team, we try to reflect on our moods, actions and how we perform in certain scenarios. The language we use is a big part of this and the phrases we apply to certain situations, whether consciously or not, have a huge impact on how we respond and approach business issues.

One of the phrases that we hear all too often and which goes against everything an entrepreneur values is: “the problem is…”. Typically, this is followed by the reasons (often very evident) to why a certain option isn’t viable. Think about some of the common things you might hear in the office: “The problem with that is, it’s too expensive” or “The problem with that is we don’t have enough man-power” or perhaps it’s “the problem is that we don’t have time for that”.

The reason we are so strongly opposed to this phrase is because rarely does it contribute to solving any issues. Those who apply this phrase often use it to ignore any critical thought or to risk putting themselves on the line by suggesting anything creative, thoughtful or outlandish. It immediately strikes down any notion of trying to solve a problem, but rather paints the issue as closed, useless or just plain stupid. To us, this simple phrase tells us a lot about how one thinks and approaches all manner of scenarios. 

First, let’s talk about the word “problem”. There has been a lot of literature lately which expresses the need to label these things differently (concerns, issues, dilemmas etc.), but all of that is just rubbish. If there is a problem, let’s make sure we present it as such. The difference lies in how you frame the problem and, most importantly, what you open your thoughts with and then how you proceed to tackle them.

Now (and more importantly), how can you help stifle this type of close-minded thought process and encourage thought leadership and expressive creativity?

Number one, we think you must build a culture where solution-based thinking is the prevailing thought. I.e. all ideas, no matter how far out there, are accepted and absorbed for analysis. There are multiple ways to achieve this, but some examples might be: open forum meetings, constant feedback loops, flat organizational charts to encourage alternative opinions and willingness from team members to listen and follow through with solutions. Anything which allows creative thought leadership to emerge and be assessed is the secret to avoiding “the problem is”…

Secondly, a supportive framework for execution will allow this mindset to broaden and change how team members approach problems. At 360, two of the tactics we employ are the Ready, Fire, Aim (R.F.A) and The Disagree and Commit thought processes. I’ve spoken about the R.F.A approach in another post, so you can read up on it  here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/ready-fire-aim-when-how-we-take-action-ryan-smith/. The Disagree and Commit process means that if you don’t agree with someone’s solution and it has carried forward to be the choice that is made, then no matter what, you must support and assist in ensuring that it is a successful choice. This further reinforces the supportive framework and gives those who might not normally speak up the ability to believe in their ideas. Combined, these two allow team members to see optimism turned into action. 

Lastly, and it’s going to sound funny, we feel you have to create an organization where optimism is the primary thought process. Those who see a future where things are possible are more apt to offer forward looking or solution-based thinking. Some of the ways you might accomplish this are to speak about the future more often, set more goals and achieve them and allow the team to see the little successes as they come up. All of this allows close-minded individuals to see a more progressive framework where they might be able to impact the decision-making process.  

In summary, eliminating the closed-minded thought process which leads to phrases like “the problem is”, can be achieved by:

a) building a culture which encourages critical thought and eliminates the notion that ‘dumb’ ideas exist

b) having a supportive framework for execution and

c) creating optimistic thought. 

I’ll stress again that it’s important to be aware of where problems exist, but if you can change your initial thoughts to how to solve those problems, they almost inevitably disappear or diminish.  

It’s easy to identify the problems. Let’s work together to find the solutions.

Ryan

CEO 360 Energy Liability Management