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ลำดับตอนที่ #90 : These three questions can solve any problem
I’m a
big fan of simplicity, whether it’s about strategy and
innovation or personal
productivity. In a complex world, there’s no use making things more
difficult than they need to be.
It’s
just so easy to complicate things — even I am guilty. But in reality, there are
three questions I’ve used in consulting with executives that have much wider applicability to all
sorts of problems people encounter in business and in life.
At
the risk of severe
hyperbole, I believe these three questions can help solve any problem.
Don’t take my word for it. Try it yourself. Think of any problem you are
dealing with right now — a difficult colleague, changes to your business wrought by the digital
revolution, or even, say, the struggle to get into better physical shape —and
honestly ask yourself these three questions:
Are
you really willing to change what you’ve been doing?
Nothing
gets done until you say “YES” to this question. Otherwise, it’s all just talk.
Think
about it. Companies that struggle to adapt to changing business conditions are
held back almost entirely by their own unwillingness to change. It’s not that
companies cannot change, it’s that they’re unwilling to do so. Taxi companies
the world over have been unwilling to provide better service at a lower price
to customers, and so Uber and others have emerged to take their business away.
How
about your own life? That colleague who is congenitally uncooperative? He’ll keep doing it
until he has a reason not to. Are you prepared to take him on? If he works for you, are you prepared
to reassign him, or
fire him if necessary? It might take a lot of work, but if you’re not willing
to do it, then stop complaining.
The
company trapped in an analogue
world when everything is now digital? Consider Facebook: the social giant was
willing to shift from desktop application to mobile, and is now generatingas much as 80% of its revenue from mobile.
There are lots of reasons companies don’t change in the face of massive
challenge, but I’d put their unwillingness to do so at the top of the list.
By this
point, you should be able to connect the dots on the third example: improving
your physical health. And deep down I bet most of us know it, too. Despite all
the excuses we come up with — too busy, we don’t really have a problem, I’ll
get to it later — the reason we choose not to go to the gym or select a
healthier diet is because we don’t really want to.
All
of us — individuals and companies alike — could be well on our way to better
personal and corporate health if we were willing to recognise that things could
be better and have the guts
to do something about it. There is no replacement for the courage to say yes.
Can
you think of a better strategy or idea than the status quo?
Even
if you are willing to change, you’ve got to come up with a solution to your
problem. In some cases, it’s quite easy. Becoming healthier by improving your
diet and doing more exercise is not exactly a secret or a revolutionary
solution.
Other
times, however, it is more difficult. Companies can bring in armies of
consultants to help them come up with new solutions to what’s ailing them, but the
old-fashioned idea of expecting you and your own staff to have ideas isn’t all
that unreasonable either.
Take
Blockbuster and Netflix as one example. The writing was on the wall for some time on how
digital streaming was going to become a better solution for more people than
heading to your local DVD store. And a more profitable solution for companies
able to deliver that service. Blockbuster did have choices — buy Netflix when
they were still quite small and run them as an independent entity, create their own
“Netflix” business, retrench
into a small niche
player doing what you’ve always done for the tiny market that might still
prefer to browse the shelves, or selling out to another company better — or
dumber — than they were. Blockbuster made an attempt, too late, to create its
own version of Netflix, but ultimately
collapsed under the weight of change.
The
point is, when you are open-minded, curious, and creative, you’ll have options.
Can
you execute on your chosen solution?
This
is where the proverbial
rubber meets the road. No matter how great your strategic idea, if you
can’t execute on it you’re doomed.
This is how it should be, of course, but that doesn’t make it easier.
Blockbuster did create a small unit designed to replicate Netflix, but it died a quick death in a
corporate culture that only knew one business model.
Dealing
with that difficult colleague requires courage and a plan of action, but then
you have to actually have the difficult conversation. Or you have to convince
others to move the troublemaker to another place where he might add more value
and do less damage. Or you have to initiate an often-long process of documenting grounds for dismissal. All of it is
hard work.
Even
going to the gym and eating better doesn’t happen by itself. Maybe you need a
personal trainer to keep you motivated (and raise the embarrassment factor if
you quit or the financial strain
if you have to pay for a missed training session). If you don’t have the
personal discipline to stay away from those wonderful French fries, there’s an
entire industry that has sprung
up to help you execute on your eat-healthy strategy: diet clubs, diet
programs, diet apps galore.
I
don’t want to underestimate the difficulty of answering, with actions, these
questions. Every step of the way is challenging, from having the courage to
change, to creatively developing a new way of doing things, to actually making
it happen. But these three questions will always be at the heart of any
solution. Getting to a much better place as an individual, or for a company,
really is possible. It need not be so confusing and overwhelming.
When
you really think about it, you’ve got everything you need to solve your
problem.
executives (n.)
someone in a high position,
especially in business,
who makes decisions and puts them
into action:
(adj.)
relating to making decisions and managing businesses, or suitable for people with important jobs in business:
applicability (n.)
the fact of affecting or relating to a person or thing:
hyperbole (n.)
a way of speaking or writing that makes someone or something sound bigger, better, more, etc. than they are:
wrought (adj.)
made or done in a careful or decorative way:
congenitally
take him on
hire an employee.
reassign (v.)
to give an employee a different job, or to arrange for an employee to work in a different place:
to decide that a legal matter will be dealt with by a different judge or police department:
revenue (n.)
the income that a government or company receivesregularly:
guts (n.)
bravery and determination:
quo (n.)
quid pro quo
something that is given to a person in return for something they have done:
ailing (adj.)
experiencing difficulty and problems:
The writing
was on the wall
said to mean that there are clear signs that something will fail or no longer exist
Entity (n.)
something that exists apart from other things, having its own independent existence:
retrench (v.)
If governments,
companies,
etc. retrench, they startspending less
money,
or reducing costs:
remove a worker from their job as a way of reducing costs
niche (n.)
a job or
position that
is very suitable for
someone, especiallyone
that they like:
an area or position that
is exactly suitable for
a small groupof the same type:
ultimately (adj.)
finally,
after a series of
things have happened
used to emphasize the
most important fact in a situation:
the proverbial
rubber meets the road
When something is about to begin, get serious, or be put
to the test.
doomed (adj.)
certain to fail,
die,
or be destroyed
replicate (v.)
to make or do
something again in exactly the same way:
initiate(v,)
to cause something to begin:
dismissal(n.)
the situation in which an employer officially makes someone leave their job:
a decision that someone
or something is not important
strain (n.)
a force or influence that stretches, pulls, or puts pressure on something, sometimes causingdamage:
something that makes you feel nervous and worried:
galore (adj.)
in great amounts or numbers:
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