3 ways to reframe your problem for a successful solution

Many companies don't struggle with solving problems, but they do struggle with what is the problem. Across 17 countries, Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg surveyed 106 C-suite executives from 91 private and public sector companies. 85% of executives said their companies were bad at diagnosing problems and 87% agreed this incurred significant costs. Most managers tend to leap straight into searching for solutions, without checking they deeply understand the problem.

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What capabilities do you need in a robotic age?

The B2B world is changing, and the skills and capabilities of staff need to change to match this. Is your company prepared? Have you started to build your capabilities for an unsure and volatile future? Creativity, critical thinking and tech capability are becoming essential skills for leaders.

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Amazon - why kill bookstores and then open bookstores?

Over the last five years, we have all watched Amazon dominate book sales and many retail book stores have closed unable to compete. So, when I heard Amazon were opening bookstores, I was baffled. When Amazon have destroyed bookstores, why would they start to open bookstores?

On a recent visit to New York I was curious to see just what an Amazon bookstore looked like. See for yourself:

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Can Problem-Solving really Build Teams?

It is one thing to have a problem to solve; it is another to use this as a means of improving and strengthening your business, to make it your competitive advantage. When you have a problem to solve and need to establish a project team, it's an opportunity to develop internal relationships and remove inter-departmental barriers.

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Is Your Company Creative Enough to Survive Disruption?

The issue of creativity will determine whether or not your company will survive or become a statistic. Trying to create an environment that is conducive to creativity, both for yourself and your teams will ultimately become a top priority for your company. How can your team become more creative?

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Why Can't We Find A Solution? [Problem-Solving]

Does this sound familiar?

This morning, three hours discussing the poor results from the employee survey and getting nowhere. We tried to agree some actions to improve satisfaction. But we went round and round in circles. Helen from HR wanted to find ways to get staff more involved. Mike in Manufacturing thought that was a waste of time and we should just rewrite role descriptions so everyone was clear what they should do. Sam from Sales thought getting more involvement from staff and new role descriptions were both a waste of time and that we needed to make our salaries more competitive in the marketplace. We spent 9 minutes just arguing why each of the three solutions were wrong.

No wonder many managers say their meetings don't work. So, what can you do?

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Involve your audience

When Persuading for Results, involving your audience throughout your presentation helps maintain their attention. Indeed, self-discovery and practical application is often the most effective way of learning and the most effective way of persuading. There are many ways to involve people, depending on the size of your audience. You may like to give people an opportunity to test your product, or to have them work with your ideas actively. Make sure the activity you use is linked back to your message. The activity should reinforce your message, not distract from it.

Read the full blog for some ideas on involving your audience.

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