I recently worked with a firm of senior business advisors, all of which had backgrounds from virtually every industry known to human kind.
All of them had one thing in common that drove their career success.
Regardless of who they were, what they did or how they did it; they knew how to find the problem that needed to be solved.
As I worked with them, I was surprised by how easy and obvious their approach was:
“Find the problem that needs to be solved. Humans are employed and rewarded to solve problems. The faster and quicker you are at finding the problem and solving it, the faster you climb and the more money you make”.
They then went on to show me how they did it. It’s called discovery.
Discovery is a simple, profound and obvious way of thinking once you know it.
And it may change the way you do business:
Find out what the challenge is. Whether you’re in your weekly team meeting, in with the boss, on a big Zoom call or talking to a new client, the first step to discovering the challenge is to listen & ask good questions first. Don’t talk about how brilliant you are or throw in a bunch of random ideas. You are trying to discover what the core challenges are first. Nothing else matters. A challenge is any goal the business needs to deliver on. It’s the only reason you have a job. For example, you find out;
The product needs better distribution.
The brand needs a simplified website.
The project needs a better process.
Find out what problems are stopping delivery of the challenge. Once you have a grasp on what the challenges really are, you can now start to find out what’s stopping the team or the business delivering on them. What stops challenges being delivered = problems. Don’t confuse the two. Challenges are things you need to deliver. Problems are what stops that from happening. For example, by clarifying the challenges in step 1, you discover the problems to those challenges are;
Too many distributors targeting the same customers for the product.
No-one on the team with any digital expertise to manage the website.
The CFO has mandated a process that nobody knows how to use.
Solve the problem! Now you know the challenges and you know what problems are standing in the way, you can apply your skills, knowledge, expertise and talent to solve them. For example;
You offer to assess & find a single distributor to sell your product.
You offer your expertise to simplify the website.
You offer to train everyone on the process the CFO wants to follow.
This pragmatic approach does one powerful thing; it allows you to quickly demonstrate and deliver your value. And that is what companies reward you for.
Most people go into situations with immediate solutions. They ignore steps 1 and 2 completely. In our last post, you’ll know how “Happy Ears” can be career limiting; i.e., you think you know the answer, so you go straight into solution mode.
Successful people delineate between a challenge and a problem so they can apply their value to solving.
So how do you apply this in the real world to drive your career?
Here’s a couple of scenarios:
You’re interviewing for a new job. The temptation is to spend the entire time selling yourself by focusing on how amazing you are. Instead, focus more on discovery. Ask good questions about the challenges. Is it customer growth? Improving the culture? Brand engagement? Geographic expansion? Find out what they are. Try to help the hiring manager unpack what problems stand in their way. Then talk about how your skills have helped solve these problems using prior examples. This is the person they should hire.
You’re in a meeting where everything is swirling in circles. We’ve all been in meetings where the topic is on a merry-go-round. Take control. Get the attendees to think about the challenges you’ve all been asked to deliver. Try and narrow it to the big things. Then get the group to unpack what’s stopping them. These are the problems. Then pick the problem that you can personally solve, and tell the group you will go and solve it. This is the person who becomes the leader.
You’re talking to a potential new customer. Most people start a meeting by pitching their wares out of the gate. Wrong! How can you pitch if you don’t know what you’re solving for? Start by asking questions about the challenges. Get them to talk about what they really need to deliver. Poke at the problems standing in their way of delivery. Now pitch, and gear your pitch to solving the problems. This is the company they should do business with.
And a wonderful side-effect of the process of discovery? Confidence.
You know what needs to get done.
With love and problems,
The Jolt.