In search of creative problem solving... a case study.

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

The topic of meetings came up the other day, as well as the love-hate relationship we have with them. When managed well they are a great forum for transferring information, leveraging the power of a group and driving the implementation of initiatives; when they are not, they are a desert of great despair and frustration. One of the greater challenges is time management, particularly if you are dealing with a number of meetings back, to back, to back, to back... for me, meetings start on time and are managed to an agenda. With that said, let me set the stage.

There was a time when I was the lead for a training program that involved the hiring, training and strategic deployment of entry level sales professionals into the field; high potential people with little or no experience in the business world. Most, if not all, were Millennials*: well educated, technologically savvy, strong sense of self worth, work-life balance expectations and full of an infectious energy. On day two of a particular training program, it was time for lunch and I make it clear that we start the meeting back up at 1:00 "sharp"... stressing the importance that everyone be back on time. After the room empties, I mention to a colleague that I will not be surprised if some of them are late. He smiles and I do not.

I want to pause for a moment to offer some thoughts on "problems". Problems and challenges come with all situations and we regularly identify what problems may lie ahead; we then tend to stack rank these problems so we can deal with the most important ones first. The thing about problems though, is they tend to be connected to other potential problems that can actually have more impact. Now circling back to my little drama, the "face value" issue with being late for lunch was a small problem as the agenda gets pushed back by 15 minutes. However, there was a much bigger problem lurking if it is not dealt with - A slippery slope would be created that would lead to compromising the authority structure, erode credibility, and ultimately devalue the core foundations being taught to ensure success. It would end up being a long four months for sure.

• Identify actual and potential problems that you are going to have to deal with.
• Remember perceived smaller problems can lead to larger problems if not dealt with appropriately
• Stack rank these problems so you can deal with them in the most efficient manner
• Remember problems have a mind of their own, so sometimes they never appear and sometimes they leave you little time to deal with them.

My watch says 12:50 and some people are back in the room; by 1:00, only half of the class is back. I had been mentally working on a number of solutions to my small, but potentially, big fat problem, and landed on this one. I simply said to the people in the room, "Well it looks like we have to wait for the others and I'm wondering, do you think their time is more valuable than your time?" Loaded questions are so much fun, as the answer I got back was "no" - And rightfully so!

As we waited, and as people filtered in, I deliberately asked them to stay standing. It was here that I was struck with a little bit of creativity to ensured my problem went away. I waited for all but one of the stragglers to arrive and I started discussing quietly the value and importance of people's time and waited. As the last last person entered the back of the room I very dramatically put up my hand and said " STOP RIGHT THERE! IS YOUR TIME MORE VALUABLE THAN THEIR TIME!" (accompanied by the appropriate hand gestures). To that he answered quietly, "No sir". I then emphatically reviewed the value of respecting people, time, and what we are doing. I let them all sit down and at 1:15 started up again. It was 15 minutes well spent in my mind.

• More often of not, there are a number of solutions to a problem; work with the one you believe will be the most effective.
• In my experience creativity does come with a "flash like" entrance. Go with it when it does.
• Deal with a problem. Don't avoid it. It will not go away and will just become bigger and more complicated.

If you are wondering, no one was ever late again and I had solved my little problem. But you know, there will always be another, and so there should... this is how we learn, grow and thrive. Now let me tell you about the time someone thought it was a good idea to bounce a basketball outside my office door...

gpe

* Millennials, also known as the Millennial Generation or Generation Y are the demographic cohort following Generation X. There are no precise dates when the generation starts and ends. Researchers and commentators use birth years ranging from the early 1980s to the early 2000s (Wikapedia). I have spend many years hiring, training, coaching and working with Millennials. They are great fun and have taught me so much ! 

Deadline...

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

Since I began to blog, I have been able to post twice a week each Wednesday and Sunday without fail. That was until this week came along... this week is the first time I said to myself, "I'm gonna miss my Wednesday deadline!"

Why you may ask? Well... some of my reasons include the influence of Mercury in retrograde, a couple of new projects that have come my way, a school course, a long weekend that confused my routine, and various other general excuses. It was during my mental prioritization I actually said to myself, "Just miss a posting, no big deal".

 I then responded to myself, " A deadline is a deadline... so get it done". I'd like to offer some thoughts on this, if I may.

But first we should look into where the word "deadline" came from. It seems there was an infamous prisoner of war camp called Andersonville during the US Civil War, and by all accounts it was a hellish place to find yourself. The camp was surrounded by a stockade and twenty feet from the in face of the wall there was a line that was sometimes marked and sometimes not. If a prisoner crossed that line, they were summarily shot on the spot. They called it the deadline. By the 1920's, the term had evolved into a less violent form and became synonymous with a time limit or due date, particularly in the newspaper business. It has now found its way into every day life as the time something is due.

Deadlines can be man-made or created by mother-nature and influenced by many factors including those of our own making. In writing this blog, I want to focus on the deadlines we create, not necessarily deadlines that require getting off the volcano before it explores (although there is a certain motivation that comes with it). 

Let's look at the spirit of what the deadline is for a moment. In a very practical sense, deadlines are needed to get things done and are particularly important if there are a sequential number of activities that are dependent on the previous one - Deadlines are the natural check and balance to ensure that we in fact get things done. The deadline also serves another very important purpose - It develops urgency and inspires. Nolan Bushnell* happened to say, "The ultimate inspiration is the deadline" and this has become a motivational quote making its way around the Internet.

The trick with deadlines however, is to ensure that they are realistic but also set in such a way that they stretch a person or a team to complete the project as quickly as possible. Poor deadline setting, result in constantly pushing the deadline back from its original date or doesn't create an environment of urgency and inspiration to make the impossible, you know, possible. This is where the need for good leadership to strike the balance comes into play.

So if we look back to my blog situation that started these prose, I think it's fair to say that the goal of twice a week is realistic, as I have been able to do it to date. Ultimately I had to get creative by altering my process and resetting some priorities to ensure that I was able to meet the expectations of a Wednesday post. So me saying, " a deadline is a deadline... so get it done", is completely appropriate and achievable. In its simplest form, I had to get inspired to figure it out - Having a deadline achieved that.

About now, I should emphatically point something out that is very important. None of your core principles should be compromised to meet a deadline; be it quality, integrity, or anything you hold sacred. For me, at the core, I want to ensure that what I write is an improvement over what I previous wrote, be it grammar, content, or what people think.

With my deadline on the horizon, I want to mention one last thing; when you get a deadline that is End of Day (EOD) or End of Business (EOB), please remember that the business day officially ends when you fall asleep.

gpe

*Nolan Bushnell is an American engineer and entrepreneur who founded both Atari, Inc. and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza-Time Theaters chain. 

Change and Adaption*

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

I thought I would start with this quote by Gaius Petronius Arbiter... he was a courtier in the court of the Roman Emperor Nero and died in 66 A.D. by his own hand. It turns out that there is no actual proof that he ever said or wrote this, but it is such a great quote we will just take the Internet at face value. It goes like this:

Petronius Arbiter - the man who may or may not have uttered the quote

"We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress
while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization."  

Anyone who has ever been on a team or in an organization will love this quote, no matter who said it. We all have been in this very situation where there is change going on for the sake of change, leaving us no further ahead (but exhausted). - That new leader who has come into an organization and has driven change to make his or her mark or that leader who cannot endure the pressure as they wait for a plan to get some traction - What Petronius says, does happen. But I do think we should also appreciate that the world, life and the universe is always changing and a vast majority of the so called "re-organizing" is the result of trying to adapt to that ongoing change, and not so much the result of a personal agenda.

Change for change's sake goes on, as well as the normal flow of change though the ongoing progress of things; be it technological change, cultural change, social change and the like - Then of course, there is dramatic change... you know, like an economic depression, a merger or an asteroid. No matter what the reason for any change, or whether you look at the word change as a noun or a verb, at the core it's all about making or becoming different. 

There is that word "different" again... and as you know, if you want to drive creative solutions you need to look at situations and problems differently. Change is at the heart of everything it seems, and anyone believing that there is a thing such as a permanent status quo is misaligned with the way our universe actually works. So back to Petronius, his fantastic quote is more a reflection of the ever constant of change and how it impacts us; as he says, it creates "confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization". There are a couple of truisms here that we have to accept...  there is will always be change and we dislike change with its unpredictability.

I'm going to loosely throw out the word "Adaption" as our method for adjusting and managing change and how we ultimately deal with some of the "confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization" that Petronius mentions. We all have different capacities and tolerances when it comes to Adaption to Change, and I wanted to draw on some of the characteristics of people who are very adept at it.

So what does strong Adaption to Change look like in a person?

1. An innate understanding that change is an ongoing event, offering growth and opportunity even if its through adversity - This may be as simple as being an optimist versus a pessimist.
2. They do not believe in the concept of perfection and understand that their way is not the only way. You know those people who just absolutely need to have it their way... they tend not to be so good with managing change. Control is an illusion.
3. Operates from core convictions, such as integrity and morality, that are well defined regarding what they will and will not do. This creates a compass as to how to move through change and reduces the chances of getting "lost" - And makes sleeping at night easier. 
4. A core belief that their skills will allow them to work through any situation - The simple belief in ones self.
5. Take personal ownership of the situation, without trying to assess blame or energy on the phantom that is to fault for the change - It is important to understand why the change and the situation occurred but not dwell on it.

I would never suggest that there isn't change that pushes us back, knocks us down or gives us a bloody lip, but as they say, "The sun comes up the next day"**, so one way or another you have to deal with it.

I still very much like the quote from Petronius.

gpe

* Adaption means the same as Adaptation but doesn't sound like I am discussing the Pepper Moth and how its unique adaptation was forced by the industrial revolution. The industrial soot from the factories darkened all the trees so the moth's wings changed from white to grey to maintain its camouflage advantage. (Sorry... it's the Biologist in me)

** If the sun doesn't come up we have a problem of cosmic proportion and this is all a moot point.