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Breaking Big Problems Into Small Problems
Big business problems are overwhelming. Using a logic map to break a big problem into its smaller components can give you the clarity and understanding you need to solve it. At one point, I worked with a financial services firm and we had a program where we were making offers to consumers. When that program first launched, we were making about $5 million a year. The problem was, after a few months, we started losing $5 million a year. This was a huge issue and there were a lot of things that could have contributed to it. So we used the problem-solving process to get a better understanding of the issues that were really driving the problem before we rushed off to solve it. We broke the problem down by using what’s called a logic map. We looked at technology, training, systems, hiring, and processes. The good news is, once we broke the problem down, we identified the core issue. We followed the rest of the problem-solving process and turned that program around from losing $5 million a year to actually making $20 million a year a few years after that. Let me walk you through what a logic map is and how you can use it to break down your own problem solving. Let’s imagine we have a problem where profits are down. In the logic map, what we’re going to do is take profits and break it down into its component parts of revenue and cost. By doing so, what we’ve done is taken a larger problem and broken it down into smaller components. But those are still large issues to try and solve, so let’s use the logic map to break it down even further. We’ll break revenues down into volume and price and further break down our volume […]
Making No Decision is Still Making a Decision
The following is an excerpt from One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership (you can get your copy here). This post focuses on the importance of making decisions. Enough with all the thinking already! Now you need to drive action. Ideas are great but someone has to put them in motion for them to be worthwhile, and deciding to do that is no easy task. Acting on a decision can be terrifying, especially in the case of large-scale change. Your decision may affect a significant number of people, and what if it is the wrong decision? What if things do not go as expected and the resulting outcome negatively impacts you or your organization? You could lose your job. Worse, hundreds of other people could lose theirs. It is hard enough to act on decisions when just facing your own insecurities. Throw the complexities of your organization into the mix and the angst increases exponentially. Politics, lack of resources, uncertainty, doubt, and fear all mess with our minds right when we are on the verge of taking action. However, I am challenging you to be thought leaders. Being a thought leader requires you to be bold. Your decisions must be clear and forceful. The “thought” part of the equation only gets you halfway to your destination. As my colleague Alan Veeck says “It’s good to have thoughts, but that’s not enough.” Being a true thought leader means you not only agitate for but also lead change. Such leadership requires decisive action on your part. You probably see it all the time—people and teams suffering from analysis paralysis. They are unable to make a decision and instead their organization languishes in the purgatory of endless Excel models. People fear making decisions. They sometimes believe, erroneously for the […]
Which function in your organization is the main driver of your business (they lead and everyone else follows)?
Our reader poll today asks: Which function in your organization is the main driver of your business (they lead and everyone else follows)? Marketing 11.00% Sales 28.02% Operations 29.44% Finance 9.93% Research & Development 3.90% Product Development/Management 6.73% IT 2.12% Some other group/function 8.86% Who is the “alpha?” While there’s a broad mix of which part of respondent organizations “lead” the company, what you all have in common is there is one major function that leads decision-making considerations. What’s important for you is understanding which group is the “alpha” and what kind of dysfunctional behaviors or risks that can create. For example, if Operations is the alpha and they focus on efficiency and keeping costs low, make sure that doesn’t come at the expense of growth and trying new product ideas. If the alpha is Finance, beware of short-term focus on hitting this quarter’s numbers at the expense of long-term strategic investments. If the alpha is Sales, beware of driving top line revenue through discounting at the expense of having healthy profit margins. While it’s great to have one strong organizational leader, each carries its own risk. Assess that risk and make sure appropriate checks and balances are in place. – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!
7 Tips for How to Use, Not Lose, Your Power at Work
Getting promoted comes with an increase in power. Use that newfound power wisely. If you do, your leadership position will improve. If you don’t, it could spell disaster for you. Today’s post is by Victor Prince, one of our thoughtLEADERS instructors and co-author of Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide Their Teams to Exceptional Results (CLICK HERE to get your copy). Congratulations! You just got the big promotion to management. People now report to you, you have some budget, and you have some decision-making authority. In short, your new role comes with power. Just like electricity, power is a very useful asset but can be dangerous if misused. Here are 7 tips for how to use your power so you don’t abuse or lose it. 1. Don’t Use it for Personal Gain – Some potential pitfalls are easy to spot but many are more gray than black or white. What starts as “relationship-building” with vendors can slide into contract-steering after a few too many fancy dinners. What starts as “team-building” in the office can slide into inappropriate requests outside the office. Now that you have power at work, you have to keep a firewall between your work and personal needs so you aren’t seen as using your work power for personal gain. 2. Don’t Play Favorites – Now that you have power, people will ask you to use it to help them. They want a decision to go their way. They want more staff or a bigger piece of the budget. Whatever it is, you know and like some people more than others so you may unintentionally factor that into decisions. Favoritism is a slippery slope to trouble. People not getting favored treatment will notice and criticize you for it. People benefitting from your kindness may come to expect it. Stick to the facts and merits. Whenever making a […]
How does your organization approach strategic initiatives?
Our reader poll today asks: How does your organization approach strategic initiatives? We focus on a small set of initiatives and execute them quickly 31.46% We try to focus but often get distracted which leads to little getting done 27.70% We bite off too many initiatives and never finish anything 26.76% We rarely pursue anything strategic — it’s all tactical 14.08% Focus, focus, focus. 54% of you seem like your eyes are bigger than your stomach and bite off too many initiatives that the organization simply can’t get done. While it seems like you’re getting a lot done by working on multiple projects, you’re likely slowing your efforts down because you’re diluting your energy. It can be hard to say “no” to something so instead, try saying “not yet.” That will help you push off initiatives to work on later and overcome objections of people who feel like they’re being said “no” to. People generally respect and understand prioritization. Focus on a smaller set of projects, execute them quickly, and move on to the next batch. Focused energy drives speed. And for those who only focus on the tactical, focus on carving out time for a strategy session where you assess where you’re headed long-term. If you don’t set aside time for that discussion, you’ll always be working on the small stuff. – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!
Scaling Up From Individual to Team
When scaling your consulting firm up from an individual to a team, you’ll have to decide whether to hire contractors or employees. Learn the pros and cons of each. When you want to grow your consulting firm, you’re probably going to have to bring on additional people. There’s only so much of you to go around. Make deliberate choices about whether the people you bring on will be contractors or employees. Ensure those individuals’ interests are aligned with yours. If you’re going to bring on contractors, you don’t run into all the employment and tax issues and they’re going to be a more flexible workforce. The downside is they can leave suddenly and they don’t always share your personal interests. If the people you bring on are employees, they’re dedicated to the work, but they come along with a lot of administrative issues you’re going to have to deal with. If you need someone who’s fully committed to building your firm but that person’s only interest is part-time work to supplement their income, you’re not going to be happy with that result. Ensure interests are aligned between you and the people you bring on. A lot of times I get people who say they want to work with me, and we run a training firm. They’ll tell me, “Well Mike, when you can’t do the training session, just throw me that gig.” The problem is, I don’t need people for bandwidth to do the training. I need salespeople. That relationship won’t work out, so I have to hire different people. I’ve chosen a structure where I have contractors. I don’t want to deal with the overhead. I don’t want to deal with the administrative issues. It’s great that I have contractors because I don’t deal with those issues. The downside is, sometimes I struggle to get my contractors’ attention and have them focus on […]
12 Services Every Leader Must Provide to Their Team
Great leaders get the best out of their teams by providing 12 core leadership “services”. The best leaders provide these services in an efficient and effective way. Today’s post is by Mike Figliuolo and Victor Prince, authors of Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide Their Teams to Exceptional Results. Every leader wants to give their team all the help they need. That help can come in many forms. How do leaders help their team members grow and become more autonomous? Are leaders serving their teams in the most efficient and effective way? In our book Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide Their Teams to Exceptional Results, Victor Prince and I describe the 12 “leadership services” that leaders must provide to their teams: Directing Planning: Leaders translate their vision for the organization into team goals and individual goals. Prioritizing: Leaders prioritize the individual goals into team priorities. Coordinating: Leaders use their higher seat on the org chart to provide their team members with broader organizational perspectives and make connections for them. Doing Deciding: Leaders make decisions that can’t be or shouldn’t be made by their team members. Motivating: Leaders motivate people to do things, particularly when those tasks are difficult. Clearing: Leaders help people overcome the roadblocks they face at work. Delivering
When handing down responsibility, do you delegate or do you abdicate?
Our reader poll today asks: When handing down responsibility, do you delegate or do you abdicate? I delegate and make sure I stay in touch with the task to ensure it’s done right 90.12% I abdicate and hand things off then hope for the best 4.35% I don’t really understand the difference between those approaches 5.53% Getting the benefits of delegation. A huge portion of you are doing delegation right – pass the task off and give responsibility and authority for completion to the person it lands with but stay in touch to make sure it gets completed correctly. For those who just abdicate, expect to be unpleasantly surprised at some point. When you completely disengage and don’t follow progress, you might get news you don’t want. You’re also doing a disservice to the person you hand it off to. They may need your help but might be afraid to ask for that help. For those who didn’t understand the differences between delegation and abdication, hopefully that’s clear now – it’s about maintaining the connection to the person who is doing the work. – Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!