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Follow These Steps, In This Order

Physics taught us how to approach any problem, use the little information we had to get a handle on it, and solve it. The steps were simple:

That's it.

Turning around a person or team or business is no different, but with far less math.

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See the Problem Correctly

Listen, listen, listen. Before you do anything else, gather data. Watch. Ask how things are done, then ask WHY things are done that way. Ask respectfully. People have good reasons for what they do, and if they think you're being critical they'll clam up and you'll have no real data to work with.

"Information precedes inspiration."

-Neal A. Maxwell

Decide clearly what needs to change. You can't solve something you haven't defined. Frame the problem clearly before you try to solve it, and decide what result you want. State it as a positive outcome. Saying "I hate meetings" isn't the same as "meetings should be exciting and get real work done instead of trying to stay awake."

"If you don't know where you're going, you might not get there."  

- Yogi Berra

Discover the root causes. Now look for the underlying causes of the problem you see. Don't confuse outcomes, symptoms, diseases, and root causes. if you don't see and fix the real root cause, you're trying to fix the wrong thing.

Outcome: A marriage is in jeopardy.
Aha, they need marriage counselling, right? But WHY is it in jeopardy?
Symptom: They can't pay the bills.
Oh, they really need financial advice, right? But WHY can't they pay the bills?
Disease: The breadwinner has no job.
So job placement, motivation to look for work, or a job referral would help, right? But WHY does the breadwinner have no job?
Root causes: The breadwinner is temporarily disabled.
Finally, we see a real source of the problem, which needs a totally different solution. This family has three small children, so one parent probably needs to stay at home. Perhaps they need to switch roles until the disabled spouse can get healthy and return to work?

Assess What You've Already Got to Work With

This is where you find out what resources and information you have at your disposal, what kind of hand you've been dealt.

Find connections between things. "Integrative thinking" is the secret strategic weapon of the 21st century in my opinion. It's essential for Presidents and CEOs. It means "finding connections in lots of information, even between things that seem contradictory." Work on that skill. Match problems with opportunities.

"Creativity is just connecting things."
- Steve Jobs

"In the midst of difficulty lies opportunity."
- Albert Einstein

Forge alliances with people. "Allies" are people who are like-minded, who can band together with you to make this thing happen. Don't do it alone. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto, and they were superheroes! Since you're not a superhero, you need even more people on your side—as many as you can find. My study group in college was a band of allies that wouldn't have survived without each other.

“We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” - Benjamin Franklin

Use social resources. If you want to change something, there's a community talking about it already. Find it and join in to get ideas. For example, Who's In Charge Here? [mine] gives you a team of change agents and experts you can draw from. Get ideas, resources, and advisers outside your immediate organization. Bounce thoughts off of others to get a handle on the problem.

"Your toughest business, work, and leadership issues solved, live." - whosinchargehere.com

Gather or Build the Right Tools

Look for principles. In physics, if you understand the underlying principles, you can solve any problem. Principles are general rules that apply universally. Programs and processes are just someone's particular recipe, and they change regularly. Principles are invariant, they always work. It is the same in business. Principles are the master tools in your toolkit for solving any issue, not just a specific case.

"Principles are the master tools in your toolkit for solving any issue"

See what experts say about it.  Always start with what others have done. Never invent things from scratch unless you have to.

"If I have seen further than others, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants." - Sir Isaac Newton

Use the Made to Stick and Switch models. Made to Stick and Switch are brilliant books by Chip and Dan Heath. They reveal how to frame ideas so they are remembered and then carried out. Use these as general-purpose tools for all your people problems.

"Simplicity, Unexpectedness, Concreteness, Credibility, Emotions, Stories." - Chip and Dan Heath

Apply the Tools to Solve the Problem

Start with the smallest change that gives the biggest result. Get momentum started and it inspires you and everyone else to see what's possible. Theory of Constraints teaches that you should start with the smallest change with the biggest visible impact on the whole system. Look for the gear that touches every other gear, which is not well oiled, and grease it first. This gives "the biggest bang for the buck." Then find the next one, and the next one.

"Start with the smallest change with the biggest visible impact."

Teach the principles. The lifeblood of leadership is communication, and great leadership is about the "why." You already identified the principles that apply to your situation, so teach them. Well-taught principles influence behavior far better than rules, because they resonate with people.

In college I became a tutorial lab instructor that helped engineering students survive physics. These poor souls looked like wide-eyed jackrabbits frozen in my high beams on a dark desert highway. Most just wanted to be told "what formula to use to get the right answer." Instead, I insisted on teaching the principles behind the problem and how to use them to solve ANY problem. Those students rarely returned because they had a new tool they could use forever. They didn't depend on me for the answers.

Chip away at it. You are not running a one-week race. Your race is measured in weeks, months, and years, but you will see progress along the way. Be prepared For that. Break it into pieces and work one piece at a time, in order.

"Your race is measured in weeks, months, and years, but you will see progress along the way."

Progress, not perfection. The business world is now "agile" which means you start changing things rapidly, see what the actual results are, and then rapidly pivot based on actual feedback. It's the same with influencing change in your organization.

"Progress, not perfection."

Improvise, adapt, overcome. Be ready to pivot as needed. If a door gets slammed, find a side door. Cheat appropriately—if the original problem is too hard, adjust your requirements to make it simpler at first. (Physicist are notorious for doing just that, and it works well.)

One inventor created something that could conceivably double human life expectancy, but the United States FDA would not approve anything for extending life because they had decided that death is not a disease. So instead she decided to focus on getting approval for preventing degenerative diseases. Longevity would be a side effect, which was her goal in the first place.

"Improvise, adapt, overcome."
- Unofficial slogan of the US Marines

Keep asking, keep smiling, and never, ever stop. If something is worth changing and fighting for, your grim determination will eventually win people over. Keep a smile on your face and ask, and ask, and ask again a different way. It's difficult to say 'no' to a reasonable request thirty-nine times in a row. This is your most powerful method. If you could only do one thing to make change happen, this is it.

"It's difficult to say 'no' to a reasonable request thirty-nine times in a row."

Keep your mouth shut when they take credit. When your leader announces that it is "his" idea to do the thing you've been pushing for, smile big and be applaud them. You won. If they think it's their idea, they will make sure it happens.

“There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.”
- Ronald Reagan

Kevin Crenshaw is a Turnaround CEO and Advisor, and Host of
Who's In Charge Here? — the business turnaround radio show and podcast.

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