A lot of people are tasked with solving problems or managing a process on a daily basis. The easiest approach to this can be to apply “fixes” or “a process” that you have used in the past to current problems or process creation.
While this concept is valuable, it has been my experience that each problem or process is unique and that trying to “fit a round peg in a square hole” can lead to a number of pitfalls. Most importantly the assumption that the problem or process is taken care of by just this simple application of past experience.
I do not want to come across as saying that past experience is not valuable, in fact quite the opposite, I believe that it is not only critical but required to be successful.
One area where this resonates with me is in managing my team of “BDR’s” or Teleprospectors” depending on who you ask. As many of us are aware “problems” arise constantly when managing a team. They can be problems that the entire team faces or an individual on the team is faced with.
An approach that works for me is as follows:
- First identify the problem (who, what, why) – this includes the very important step of having a dialogue with either the entire team or the individual faced with the problem.
- Next is to draw on past experiences with the specific team or individual or experiences that are similar outside of the current team.
- Next step is to create a unique solution plan for the problem or process in question.
- Execute on this solution or process
- Finally, and most importantly is to follow-up on the solution and measure the outcome.
One note, during and after this follow-up it is critical that you have the ability to objectively look at the outcome and evaluate if it has worked to solve the problem or created a process that is efficient.
“My 2 Cents”
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