What's the Problem?

"A problem well-stated is a problem half solved.

--John Dewey

I took on a complex restructuring engagement several years ago and needed help. A telephone appointment was arranged with Dr. Edgar Schein, Professor Emeritus, Work and Organization Studies, MIT, Cambridge, MA. Dr. Schein, credited with founding the field of organizational culture, is one of my favorite authors. (See "Organizational Culture and Leadership" 5th edition.)

(C) Inc.

He listened politely to the proposition. I said to think about the offer and that I would call back in a week for his response. Thankfully, Dr. Schein signed on and thus began a 36-month professional relationship with one of the great minds in strategic management. 

Dr. Schein's initial advice came in the form of a question--"What's the problem?" Then, he kept probing to ensure the client was thinking carefully and not rushing to find solutions. Why that approach? Because teams, and task forces, under pressure, often try to solve complex problems without proper judgment.  

Or they try to solve a problem when it's a "polarity" to be managed. Sample polarities or tensions include short-term vs. .long-term, centralization vs. decentralization, and growth vs. consolidation. (See "Polarity Management" by Barry Johnson.)

Defining the problem

Regardless of your position or the nature of the enterprise, problems are ever-present. They vary in degree and form and come from all directions. Some are resolved quickly by drawing on previous experiences. Others require more time and study.  

Since problem-solving and decision-making go together, what can we do to improve the process? 

For an intricate, unsettled question involving corporate strategy, you could begin by asking--

"What prevents us from reaching our goal?"

You may need to state the problem broadly since the exact problem may not be obvious. This is due to a lack of information to define it, or you confuse symptoms with underlying causes. 

Prepare a statement of the problem and find someone you trust to review it and talk it over. For example, if the problem is a job situation, check it with your supervisor or another appropriate person.  

Consider these questions

In reflecting on the situation, the right questions are helpful:

o  What's the problem?
o  Is it my problem or someone else's?
o  Can I solve it? Is it worth solving?
o  Is this the real problem, or merely a symptom of a larger one?
o  If this is an old problem, what's wrong with the previous solution?

Continuing

o  Does it need an immediate solution, or can it wait?
o  Is it likely to go away by itself?
o  Can I risk ignoring it?

o  Does the problem have an ethical dimension?
o  What conditions must the solution satisfy?
o  Will the solution affect something that must remain unchanged?

Restating the problem

Dr. Schein recommends taking your original definition of the problem and periodically updating it with new insights. Seeing intuitively comes by observing a complicated issue from different perspectives. It's also possible to come upon new facts by remaining open-minded and not giving up too soon.  

How often do you restate the problem?  

That depends on its nature and urgency. Some research on this topic suggests that in almost all cases, the conditions and constraints affecting the problem and its possible solutions change over time--sometimes dramatically--changing both the problem and the range of options designed to address it.  

And don't forget

As some questions have no answers, specific problems have no solutions.   



*Study Guides and Strategies contributed to this post.

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© Bredholt & Co. 

The Hollowing of an Organization

"How did you go bankrupt? Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly."

--Ernest Hemingway, "The Sun Also Rises"

This summer saw the removal of a nearly 100-year-old, 100-foot sassafras tree from a property in Michigan. During a recent inspection of all our trees, arborist John Wardlaw noticed a "cavity" in the side of that particular tree (see picture below), indicating probable damage to the center of the trunk. However, he said the outside could look okay while the inside was deteriorating.

Sassafras tree in Michigan.  

After two very large branches fell this past year, we decided to take down the tree. Unfortunately, the combination of shade and sassafras fragrance paled compared to the dangers of a falling tree causing bodily harm.

How a tree hollows

Our research into this topic shows that trees suffer injury just as humans do. That was news to me. When limbs break, it sometimes creates an opening through the bark, exposing the sapwood. Being attacked by fungi and bacteria forms a cavity.  

Stress happens through wind, fire, heat, and lightning. We've had lots of rain this spring in Michigan, which is also a contributing factor.

Can a tree be hollow and still live?

Indeed, a hollow tree can be alive--and fruitful.  

Emily Stone, a naturalist and educator at the Cable Natural History Museum, says, "All of the growth and water transport continues in the outer shell of the tree--the sapwood--even as the center rots away.

"For a tree to become hollow, though, it must start the process while it is still alive," she added. 

How a business hollows

In the same way trees stay healthy and avoid hollowing out, businesses require the right conditions to grow and be strong.   

A corporate soul (purpose, beliefs, and values) resides inside an "organizational tree."  That core is strategic to the enterprise and therefore needs constant attention.   

Author Lim Lay Hsuan observed, "If leadership fails to nurture the soul, like a deprived garden, it will eventually die."

Nurturing a company begins with nurturing oneself. Leaders who are clear about their own purpose and goals have a head start in that process.  

What else should have our attention?

"Why" the business; hiring decisions; who is the customer; developing associates; the quality of being special; ethics; changing environments; and exemplary performance or execution, not just what's required. 

Those ingredients necessitate maintenance and contribute to a healthy corporate culture, the most overlooked competitive advantage.  

Reflections

-What's the current condition of your organizational soul? 

-Who are the guardians?  

-Do the company's beliefs and values matter to a new workforce?  

-How do you keep and strengthen the soul during periods of significant demographic change?

Circumvent the hollowing

While there are no guarantees, it's worth trying to safeguard what's important to an organization. A short checklist suggests ways of impeding the hollowing process--

1. Identify what matters most to your business and communicate it frequently.

2. Apply your beliefs and values consistently, especially in decision-making.

3. Be aware of the stresses that can do long-term damage.

4. Businesses, like trees, need trimming to stay healthy and flourish.

5. Hire for corporate culture. There's nothing like a good fit.  

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© Bredholt & Co.

  

The State of Your Business

Best and worst states for business in 2019:

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Rank

1. Texas
2. Florida
3. Tennessee
4. North Carolina
5. Indiana
6. Nevada
7. Arizona
8. South Carolina
9. Ohio
10. Georgia
11. Utah
12. Colorado
13. Virginia
14. Wyoming
15. South Dakota
16. Iowa
17. Wisconsin
18. Oklahoma
19. Idaho
20. Nebraska
21. Arkansas
22. Delaware
23. Kentucky
24. Missouri
25. Alabama
26. New Hampshire
27. Montana
28. North Dakota
29. Kansas  
30. Louisiana
31. New Mexico
32. Michigan
33. Pennsylvania
34. Maryland
35. Maine
36. Rhode Island
37. Minnesota
38. Mississippi
39. West Virginia
40. Alaska
41. Vermont
42. Hawaii
43. Washington
44. Oregon
45. Massachusetts
46. Connecticut
47. New Jersey
48. Illinois
49. New York
50. California


Source:  Chief Executive Magazine

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Brené Brown--TEDx Talk on Vulnerability

Best-selling author, Brené Brown, studies human connection -- our ability to empathize, belong, and love. In a poignant, funny talk, she shares a deep insight from her research that sent her on a personal quest to know herself and understand humanity. A talk to share.

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This talk, viewed by over 40 million people, was presented to a local audience at TEDxHouston, an independent event. 

See what you think.

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© Bredholt & Co.

A Nightly Logistics Ballet

"Whatever we hope  to do with ease, we must first do with diligence."

--Samuel Johnson

There's an up-close look at the increasing speed of the logistics business in the May/June issue of Chief Executive magazine featuring FedEx, founded in 1971 as Federal Express by Frederick Smith.    

Rising expectations for immediate commercial gratification, especially among younger households, are pushing logistics and supply chain management to new levels of performance--aided by robots doing repetitive tasks.  

(C) FEDEX

"Organizational culture contributes to FedEx success," Richard Smith, CEO of FedEx Logistics, is quoted as saying. "You must be able to pivot quickly and nimbly shift strategy to delight the customer in the face of inevitable surprises," he added.  

Adapting when necessary

FedEx announced that it would begin Sunday delivery to most U.S. homes this month. That decision comes amid significant changes in online shopping patterns.   

Additionally, FedEx said it planned to hire about 700 flexible part-time Express drivers in 160 residential and rural domestic markets, responding to mounting pressure from Amazon on traditional delivery services such as FedEx and UPS. 

While leadership and strategy get more attention, the daily routine shows what an organization is made of in terms of experience, processes, and results.

The evening sort

The next time you review internal collaboration to see if it's functioning correctly, consider the following operational complexity:

At the FedEx World Hub in Memphis, Tennessee, at what's referred to as the "evening sort," an intricate ballet is performed each evening.  

The sort involves:

-84 miles of conveyor belts

-150 cargo jets

-7,000 employees

-1.5 million packages

The simple goal? Make sure your package and mine get to where it needs to go.

And 24 hours later, FedEx crews do the evening sort all over again.

The next day

According to the FedEx website, the company covers every U. S. street address and services more than 220 countries and territories. In addition, air-ground express service flows through 650 airports worldwide, with just over 600 aircraft in the FedEx fleet.   

In addition to the late-night staff in Memphis, it's up to more than 240,000 team members globally to make the pick-up and delivery cycle work daily. 

What's a key factor for success in prompt delivery? An easy-to-read house or business address on the premises.

Choreography

Ballet dancers make what they do look easy when it's one of the most challenging tasks. Just ask any associate working the night shift at FedEx.*



*No doubt similar efforts are put forth by United Parcel Service (UPS) employees and the United States Postal Service (USPS).

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© Bredholt & Co.

A Mind That Is Still

"Few things are brought to a successful issue by impetuous desire, but most by calm and prudent forethought."

--Thucydides 

It was announced recently that James A. Forese, current president of Citigroup, will retire. After 34 years at Citigroup, The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr. Forese, age 56, and head of the bank's Institutional Client Group, was leaving after spending nearly a decade helping clean up from the spending crisis that contributed to the Great Recession.

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Tributes to the man

What caught our attention is how some of Mr. Forese's colleagues described the man who had risen to the No. 2 position at the 3rd largest bank in the U.S.  

Keep in mind the context of the mid-2000s--it felt as though the business world, as we knew it, was coming to an end. The housing bubble burst. Credit markets froze. Big companies like General Motors, Lehman Brothers, and Washington Mutual went bankrupt. Nearly 700 hundred thousand people a month were losing their jobs.  

So how did Mr. Forese perform in a time of extreme duress?

"We would not be the company we are without his stewardship," Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat said in a company-wide memo.

Another person added, "He (Jamie Forese) is known for being even-keeled and willing to speak his mind."  

One former Citigroup executive, Tom Obermaier, offered that Jamie Forese was a "voice of calm" during the 2008 financial crisis."When everybody in many respects was in the classic Citi game of pointing fingers, Jamie got everybody in line, calmed everybody down," Mr. Obermaier said.

How executives are described in their departure says much about who they are, not just their accomplishments.    

When your time is up, what will they say about you?

How we think

Mr. Forese's response to such a difficult moment reminds us of the writings of James Allen and the idea that inner thoughts determine outward behaviors. Here is what Allen says:

1. The calmness of the mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. Its presence indicates ripened experience and a more than ordinary knowledge of laws and operations of thought.

2. A person becomes calm in understanding themselves as a thought-evolving being. Knowledge necessitates the understanding of others. When we see the internal relations of things more clearly, we cease to fuss, fume, worry, grieve, and remain poised, steadfast, and serene.

3. Keep your hand firmly upon the helm of thought. Self-control is strength; Right thought is mastery; Calmness is power. 

Connected with reality

A measure of one's temperament often overlooked in the hiring process contributes significantly to a leader's success. With dissolving behavioral norms and markets upended by technology and demographics, it's essential to have at least one person with a non-anxious presence in the room.

To underscore that point--amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Citigroup seems to have significantly benefited from Jamie Forese's experience and a mind that is still.     

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© Bredholt & Co.

Uncommon Friends

"One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives."

--Euripides

No matter where we lived growing up in Michigan, our home was filled with conversations, mainly around the dinner table. Even after the arrival of a black and white Silvertone television from Sears, Roebuck, and Company in the late 1950s, talking face-to-face was a priority for our family.  

My mother had culinary gifts, a draw for a host of friends, neighbors, and dad's parishioners, around an oft-crowded mahogany dining room table (which now sits in our Florida home). On those special occasions, time stood still.     

That table talk can best be described as story-filled exchanges among older adults who enjoyed politics, religion, and sports. Those same topics still show up when three generations of our family gather during the holiday.     

From our early years, we learned the value of carefully sharing ideas among close friends.  

Sitting on the porch. 

In March, long-time friends and high school classmates Dave and Linda Johnson took Chris and me to the Edison-Ford winter estates. Nearly 25 years have passed since we were in Ft. Myers, Florida, in that beautifully landscaped setting on palm tree-lined McGregor Boulevard next to the Caloosahatchee River. 

Thomas A. Edison first visited this part of the Southeastern U.S. in 1885 and, while there, purchased the site that would become his winter home and laboratory. 

Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company, purchased the adjoining property in 1916.  

(L-R) Henry Ford, Thomas A. Edison, Harvey S. Firestone
on the front porch of the Edison laboratory in
Ft. Myers, Florida Circa 1930 (C) Edison Estate

Edison, Ford, and Harvey S. Firestone, founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Co., whose winter home was in Palm Beach, Florida, became "uncommon friends" spending time together in sunny Florida. Their favorite places to sit and talk were the Edison and Ford-covered porches.  

Our tour guide pointed out that none of the three great minds were "inventors," something I had not thought about. Innovators, not inventors, maybe a better word to describe these seasonal friends, the guide offered.   

To illustrate--

o In 1800, Alessandro Volta developed the first practical method for generating electricity--the battery. English chemist, Humphry Davy, produced the first electric lamp that same year. What Thomas Edison did in 1879 was surpass his competition by creating a practical and inexpensive carbon-filament light bulb.  

o Henry Ford didn't invent the automobile--that was probably Karl Benz in 1885 or 1886. Nevertheless, Ford found a way to mass produce the Model T car and sell 11,000 in 1908-09, raising $9 million to secure and expand the business.   

o John Boyd Dunlop, a Scottish inventor, first patented the air-filled tire in 1887. Harvey Firestone saw the potential for marketing tires to automobile companies and started a company in 1890.

One conversation during World War I led Edison to partner with Ford and Firestone to find a rubber tree plant that could proliferate in the U.S., removing dependence on foreign rubber. They each contributed $25,000 ($630,000 in current dollars) to organize the Edison Botanic Research Corporation and create a domestic rubber supply. 

What did Edison find? After testing 17,000 plant samples, he discovered a source in the plentiful Goldenrods, flowering plants in the aster family. 

If around today, these industrial innovators would likely be talking about artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles. Robotics and new sources of energy. Or the unintended consequences of radial tires (they last too long).  

I doubt their conversations would be considered small talk.  

The wisdom of good friends

Who are your uncommon friends? How often do you discuss things that matter most to each of you?    

Irrespective of Facebook's notion of "friending," real friends are few, and deep conversations are rare.

You may be unable to sit on a porch in a botanical garden like Edison, Ford, and Firestone. Still, in a business culture where individuals tend to over-schedule themselves, there's wisdom in making time to be among exceptional friends. The greater your responsibility, the more you need to be around those who can be trusted, especially when thinking out loud.  

Face-to-face conversations are sources of laughter, meaning, and encouragement in the correct settings. Who knows, under those circumstances, a transformative idea could even emerge. 

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