As I sat trying to explain the deal points of a transaction for one of my clients to a business attorney, I was amazed at how he began every sentence with: “The problem is…” He spent my entire time with him explaining all the problems with the deal, so I invited him to share some solutions. He offered none. I’ll share how this story ends, but first I want to address the challenges that professionals who only focus on problems create for themselves.
Have you ever had an experience like this with a professional service provider like a CPA, attorney, insurance agent, banker, etc? Were you as frustrated as me? Please know that I have a lot of respect for all of the professionals I know and with whom I associate, but my philosophy on hiring a professional is more than just to define problems.
Sure I want them to use all their expertise, experience, and wisdom to help me identify existing and potential problems, but I am also looking to them to solve those problems. The more people focus only on problems and not on solutions the less value they bring and the less we want to work with them. I was once asked by someone unfamiliar with our CFO services if we were like all the consulting companies that come in and tell you how bad you are at everything but don’t ever really help you get any better. I quickly explained a few of our drastic differences with this negative philosophy, but I was amazed at the bad taste this person had from their prior experiences.
My point is that only focusing on the problem leaves everyone with a bad taste in their mouth. If a professional in any field dares to point out a problem, then they need to be ready and willing to design and implement the solution to that problem. If not, then they will slowly lose their influence and they will have fewer and fewer opportunities to discover any problems at all, let alone solve them.
So, how did my experience at the beginning of this post end? The attorney had done some work for the company before, but he was clearly not experienced in transactions. After a brief discussion with the client, I approached another attorney with a lot of background in our type of deal. After just 30 seconds with him he said he knew exactly how to draft the document and would have it done for us in a few days. Did he think there might be some problems with structuring the deal correctly? I’m sure he did. But is he going to focus on solving all of them so this transaction can close by the end of next week. You bet he is, and he’s going to get more business from us as a result!
Ken – Thanks for pointing out the “elephant in the room” in your blog.
In consulting with Global 500’s, being a specialized coach to world class athletes and in my 17 years elevating / turning around major divisions in Global 500’s; I’ve created a job description that I consider to be the line of demarcation separating the problem spotters from the problem solvers.
Those that accept the role are stripped of all excuses including, but not limited to; I didn’t know, not enough time and If . Here’s the job description:
1. Creates “non-events”.
2. Produces measurable results (not just activities).
3. Willing to die on sword before quitting.
Unfortunately, it’s difficult to find Organizations / Leaders that are committed to making real progress using fresh approaches to gain competitive advantages. My approaches tend to upset cultures centered on harmonious, bell curve performance while the top 10% call me at 11:00pm at night to bounce ideas off me.
Enjoy ~ Jim
~ Make a Difference ~ Start Anew Today ~ Make it Big ~ The World Awaits ~
A little behind in my reading (Dec 14 to Dec 23) but want to respond to your article. The issue you bring up about identifying problems and offering no solutions to customers is wide spread. People identify problems or repeat the problem the customer has without any progressive attitude to follow through with resolve, the kind of resolve the builds rapport and retains customers. I experience this with customer service centers and witness it when I see a jet imprisoning its passengers for untold hours. The problem I see concerning problem solving in business is multi-fold and therefore the solution is no less complex. Business turned away from the customer two decades ago and toward the stock market. Customers BECAME the problem to which no solution was offered. Customer Service became a lost art; companies are more concerned with reducing its legal liability so it defends itself AGAINST the customer. The abuse is is deep and carries a legacy. Customer protection laws are at best unknown by customers and violated by companies. We see the feds legislate boundaries for air lines, for example, designed to demonstrate “how to treat people”. The problem I raise was not created by me and I am not paid to solve it; no one is asking. However I spend time with my clients practicing the art of communication that builds rapport out of respect for them. Even when I am mistreated by a client I remain on point, dissect the issues, and offer ideas on how they might solve the problem as it relates to business. My commitment is complete when I accept responsibility for the problems I create and support others to accept responsibility for the problems they create. We can solve the problem together or we don’t do business; it is as simple as that. When ego is on the table very little problem solving can occur if any. At the tip of the iceberg is the myth you have to do business with everyone. When the customer becomes the problem in the eyes of a business the means to the end never includes problem solving. It is the first thing that goes. A balance can never be struck without problem solving and commitment to follow through no matter how tough it gets. Only when the principle of relationship building is paramount can problems be solved. When one party has no interest in the relationship or only seeks to abuse the relationship the other is expected to carry the burden. No balance can exist and no problem solved without balance.
Jim and Michele,
Thanks for your insight and feedback. It seems like being willing to take ownership of the problem is a highly desired attribute and creates the results we are looking for. More importantly, it creates the results our clients and customers expect!
Enjoy the Holidays!
Ken K