The Manager - 134 - Finding an answer to your problems
Monday 12th April 2021 - Finding an answer to your problems
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Hi,
I hope you are doing safe and well and looking forward to the week ahead. It's crazy here at Lambert HQ. We've bought a new house (well an old one with lots of work needed). We're just in the pre-planning app stages but fingers crossed, we'll be moving in a few months. Busy. And a new HQ!
I'm closing in on finishing my new book. As such, I've been reading books again! So, book of the week is also back - see below!
But I have slacked on the video front. Saying that, I have a new video coming out on Tuesday about how I explain business agility to leaders using a kids puzzle. Look out for that on the YouTube channel.
Finding an answer
True exploration is discovering something you never set out to find in the first place.
If you know what you're looking for, I'd call that an adventure.
Yet, many managers and leaders set out to find THE answer to business problems, rather than AN answer. They want detailed plans and when something unexpected happens, or their single solution doesn't work - they struggle to adapt. It's why agile is a silver bullet for large companies - they've lost the ability to adapt.
You can often tell an experienced manager from an ineffective or new manager. Experienced managers ask questions to study and learn and discover. New or ineffective managers already know the answer.
It's common for managers to go looking for THE answer. They've identified the problem and they seek the single answer and solution.
But there are often many many ways to solve the same problem. Other ways often work, so I always advise people look for AN answer. Many answers. Lots of answers. And then choose one that works and resonates with the business.
It's why I never advocate for off-the-shelf frameworks or methodologies. They won't solve your problems, how can they?
A predictable future is boring
It comes down to prediction and certainty. Inexperienced (and ineffective) managers often seek certainty and predictability.
They like the certainty of a single solution, a "proven" framework and a detailed plan. It's why exploration can be so hard for many managers.
But life, and business, isn't certain or predictable, and let's face it, who would want an entirely certain future? A predictable future is boring.
Instead, it pays to embrace the fact that life and business is unpredictable, good and bad things happen and we cannot control the future.
Instead, I believe in equipping myself, and my teams, with the skills to face adversity, explore, change quickly and use our talents to find many ways to solve problems.
I'd rather have a team of people well equippped to change and move quickly, than a team of specialists who are wedded to a single plan predicting the future (that is unpredictable). The last year shows that the best laid plans don't always work. Of course, we still need to know roughly where we are going, and have some loose plan, otherwise chaos ensues.
It's the same in our own lives. The more we can go with the moment, embrace failures, seek out new ways of solving problems on our path, and adapt our behaviours to the future; the more we will thrive.
Exploration is the way to do this.
By asking questions, seeking multiple solutions to problems and letting go of a "single" way of doing something, we can really add value to our own lives and the companies we work for.
Exploration is discovering something you never set out to find. And the many things we find when we explore are really what life is about.
A predictable, planned life is not possible, nor is it really what we want. Instead, it makes sense to steel ourselves and develop the behaviours and skills to ride the waves of business and life.
Rob..
Interesting articles
1. How bitcoin and NFTs are destroying the environment. This is a super long and interesting article on how Bitcoin and NFTs are destroying the environment - and they are merely a place for rich people to get richer.
2. Look and feel better on conference calls - a good, and unusually long, article from Seth Godin on getting the most from conference calls.
3. Culture fit isn't enough. Insights on hiring for diversity and inclusion from a reluctant leader.
4. Has the pandemic made you rethink your career? Apparently, 1 in 3 people are reconsidering their life and career due to the pandemic.
5. Learning from the pandemic. An interesting read about a manager's reflection on what they have learned from the pandemic - and what they wish they'd known.
Book of the week
Surfs Up.
Let my people go surfing by Yvon Chouinard is a cracker of a book. Part business guide, part ecological activism. It's the story of Patagonia's growth from simple climbing gear manufacturer to lifestyle clothing and gear company.
It's brilliant. Not only does Chouinard explain how the company grew and some of the problems as they scaled the company, but he also explains how maintaining sight on your core purpose is so important. For Patagonia it's about using business to protect our natural world and use business to inspire change.
By focusing on doing as little harm to the environment as they can, they have built a loyal fanbase, offer customers excellent service and have grown each time they've done the "right" thing. It's counter business - focus on doing the right thing for the environment, over short term profits.
It's a wonderful book. It's full of stories, details and management insights. It's about the environment and how businesses should be the catalyst for change.
I proper loved this book. The bad news for me is I will have to update my 9 essential books for managers video now! Cos this one is going on it.
Let my people go surfing by Yvon Chouinard
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Thanks
Rob..