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4. Numbers create clarity and commitment.
5. Numbers create competition.
6. Numbers produce results.
7. Numbers create teamwork.
8. You solve problems faster.
The fourth essential component of gaining traction is having the discipline to face and solve your organization’s issues as they arise.
Problems are like mushrooms: When it’s dark and rainy, they multiply. Under bright light, they diminish. In an organization where there is nowhere to hide, the problems are easily illuminated.
“Nothing is more difficult and therefore more precious than to be able to decide.”
“It is less important what you decide than it is that you decide.” More is lost by indecision than by wrong decisions.
A vital first step is creating a workplace where people feel comfortable calling out the issues that stand in the way of your vision.
No one has ever died from being open about issues. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Start with your leadership team meetings, and this behavior will trickle down throughout the entire organization.
Managing by Values, authors Ken Blanchard and Michael O’Connor
“communication happens naturally when you make the work environment safe.”
There should be three types of Issues Lists in your organization: 1. The Issues List in your Vision/Traction Organizer (V/TO).
2. The weekly leadership team Issues List.
The Issues Solving Track consists of three steps: 1. Identify 2. Discuss 3. Solve
STEP 1: IDENTIFY Clearly identify the real issue, because the stated problem is rarely the real one.
Most of the time, the stated problem is a symptom of the real issue, so you must find the root of the matter.
Most causes of real issues are people.
That is why trust is so important. You have to become more vulnerable with each other and be willing to be straight about real problems. Remember the greater good.
three types of issues.
One is a true problem that has to be solved. The second is information that needs to be communicated and agreed to by the team. The third is an idea or opportunity that needs feedback, brainstorming, insight, and/or a green light from the team.
Tangent: Diverging from an original purpose or course; see irrelevant
The number one reason most leadership teams spend the majority of their time talking is tangents. I’ve observed teams that go on as many as 10 during the discussion of one issue. I know this because I write each of them down and then share them when the team is done discussing.
is what every leadership team needs to do. You should make all of your decisions as though you are going to your own Super Bowl—as though you were achieving your vision.
you cannot jump right to solving issues without implementing the Vision Component first. If your Vision/Traction Organizer (V/TO) is not complete and your leadership isn’t on the same page, you’ll never solve issues well.
THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF SOLVING ISSUES 1. Thou Shalt Not Rule by Consensus
2. Thou Shalt Not Be a Weenie
3. Thou Shalt Be Decisive
4. Thou Shalt Not Rely on Secondhand Information
5. Thou Shalt Fight for the Greater Good
success is not based on where you are, but on how far you have come.
Keeping your head clear, your confidence high, and your focus strong are vital in maintaining forward momentum.
Great leaders have a habit of taking quiet thinking time.
Henry Ford said, “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.”
Dive into cultural projects that will boost the core values and the people. Experiment with some new products or services in line with the company’s core focus. Go interview your top clients and really dig into what is working and what is not working for them. Take employees to lunch and ask them the same kind of questions. Test current products and services, and make sure they are still relevant.
Too many times, a new idea is incorporated into the current company, and it’s the kiss of death, due to stretched resources such as people, cash, and time. Even when both are great business ideas, they are destined to fail when they do not have the resources they need.
“Stay focused.” If every person could just do that, they would be happier and more successful.
