Candy Crushed

By on January 7, 2015   /   Games, Problem Solving  

candy crush delete

About a month ago, my wife and I celebrated an incredible moment in our household.  No, she wasn’t pregnant.  There wasn’t a new job, promotion, or any other life event.  No, what tipped the scales that evening was me finally uninstalling Candy Crush on all devices.

I love puzzles.  Love solving problems.  It’s one of the main reasons that Candy Crush appealed to me.  Each game made me think strategically and was a nice diversion from the stress of the daily routine.  Frankly, I was good at it.  I ‘finished’ the game faster than any of my friends, many of whom often gave me their phones to solve levels for them.

I wasn’t addicted by any stretch; I mainly played during downtime or small windows (like waiting in line).  Nowhere near the stories you see online, such as this woman who stole money from her own mother to play.  However, the probem with the game is there’s no reward for winning yet the social aspect of the game persuades you to keep playing, stoking your competitive fire to beat friends.  The time spent playing, even small pockets, could be better utilized such as strategizing or fueling creativity on new business ideas.

I’ve used the time since I stopped playing to finally put this blog together, master WordPress, PHP, and a few other hard skills that will be important down the road.

There’s nothing wrong with playing games, watching TV, checking facebook, or sending out one more tweet.  But if your long-term goals are not being met, it’s helpful to reassess where your time is currently going, and how it could be better spent to get you back on track.

Back to Top

A Better Way to Solve Problems

By on January 5, 2015   /   Leadership, Problem Solving  

Einstein Quote

A key skill in business is the ability to find solutions to difficult problems.  Unfortunately, many people are not as good as they could be in this area because they are too narrowly focused when looking for the solution.

For example:

  • We have a product that takes 24 weeks to implement.
  • A client wants it done and live in 8 weeks because of some business driver

Most of the managers I’ve worked with will approach this situation in one of 3 ways:

  1. Tell the client it can’t be done.  24 weeks (+/- 1 or 2 weeks for project fluff) is the best we can do.
  2. Cut corners.  Tell a resource they have 3 days to complete a task they need 2 weeks to complete (compounded over the project).
  3. Get it done on time even if it means your resources working 24/7 with no personal life until the project finishes.

None of these scenarios are ideal.  You’re either compromising quality (#2), burning out your team and risking poor associate engagement (#3), or losing a prospect altogether to a competitor who can meet the desired timeline (#1).

To borrow a line from Shark Tank – there must be a better way!  Of course there is.  Here are some tips to try:

  • Solve the problem as a team.  Brainstorming together allows there to be buy-in from all parties on the solution.
  • The project manager/leader should set the stage defining what needs to be accomplished, why, and what success looks like.
  • Employ the “King of the World” technique.  Go around the room and ask the following questions.  Everyone should have a chance to respond:
    • If you were king of the world, what would need to happen for us to complete the project in 8 weeks, with quality, and a happy client as a result?
      • At this point you’re likely to meet a lot of resistance – “we can’t” … “our boss won’t let us” … “it’s never worked before…”  The facilitator needs to keep the focus of the group away from these negative thoughts.  It’s ok to capture these blockers but a simple reminder to the team that you are looking for ideal state – “you’re king/queen of the world.”
    • Another good way to ask this question is “If only…” or “What would it take to make this happen…”
      • We could do this “if only…” You’ve now identified a major blocker that can be eliminated.
  • As a follow-up question, ask “if we were able to implement these ideas, what would be the impact to you and your other projects?”  Again, you’re not looking for judgement, only the facts.
    • For example, a resource may need to work 1 or 2 weekends to make it happen.  Perhaps you can reward the associate with a $100 gift card for a night out with the spouse when the project is over as a way to say thank you.
    • Another project might need to be put on hold temporarily to allow focus/prioritization on this project.

As the leader, you now have more information at your disposal:

  • For starters, the team may have found a more efficient process that can be used for all projects moving forward.  Imagine the wins (e.g., additional revenue, cost reduction) going from 24 weeks to 8 weeks on ALL projects
  • You’ve identified the major blockers to accomplishing your goal with quality and can put together a plan to eliminate.
  • You have buy-in from all resources and understand full impact from making the decision.

In the end, 8 weeks might not be possible.  Tell the client what’s possible and why – “we’d love to do 8 weeks but don’t want to compromise our quality to you.  We could do 12 weeks – still a 50% improvement – and guarantee quality and satisfaction.  Would that work?”  Sometimes the client is echoing ideal state of their own and will be happy with your honesty.

Now go ahead and share your plan and execute!

I’ve done this process many times with great success.  The latest attempt reduced our implementation time from 52 week average to 20 weeks.  Quite an improvement given we were told many times it couldn’t be done, most specifically from leaders who tried the “old” methods.

Give it a shot and let me know how it works for you!

Back to Top