Posts Tagged ‘problem solving’
How to Turn This Year’s Lessons Into Next Year’s Success
Every year a business writes its own story—full of wins, surprises, and lessons. The secret to a stronger sequel? Knowing exactly what worked well and what to improve. Lessons Learned This is the time to capture the lessons that will set you up for a stronger new year. Perform an after action review on the…
Read MoreWhat Happened and Why? A Simple Guide to After Action Reviews
Our focus this month is on lessons learned.The first step in learning a lesson is studying the material. Enter: After Action Reviews. After action reviews An after action review is like a “what just happened?” replay button. It allows you to review a project by reliving the victories and freeze-framing the oops moments. An AAR…
Read MoreProductivity for Every Role: Applying Equal Rules to Unique Jobs
The principles of productivity are the same across all roles in a business. But no two “to-do lists” look exactly the same. Let’s explore how professional priorities shape our productivity plans. Productive roles From an intern to the CEO, each role in a business has different targets and different expectations on their shoulders. And that…
Read MoreThe Mystery Of The Missing Productivity: A Hercule Poirot Adventure (The Worksheet)
I love a good mystery book as much as the next person. (Maybe even more) But that is because reading mysteries is my escape from the real world. Here in reality, I don’t want too much mystery. And especially not in business. Business is about clarity Running a business is all about clarity. It is…
Read MoreOnboarding Technical Skills: From Practice Drills To Your Company’s Unique Game.
Technical skills are often a reason you hire someone-but that’s just the beginning. The real challenge is having new hires adapt those skills to your business context. Onboarding is not checking off what they know. It is guiding them to apply their expertise in ways that drive your company forward. From drills to the game…
Read MoreThe Magic Meeting Makeover: How to Make Every Meeting Count. (The Worksheet)
The average employee spends 392 hours in meetings each year. But there is a problem. Only 33% of meetings actively make a new decision. And a meeting without a decision is a waste of time. Make sure your meetings are part of the 67% where decisions are made. Why meetings are hard There’s nothing wrong…
Read MorePrecision Troubleshooting: Fixing What’s Broken Without Breaking What Works. (The Worksheet)
When things go wrong in business, there is more than one way to deal with them. And the way you handle mistakes in your business will affect the culture. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has a naming policy for when somebody calls out a mistake. They don’t call them “near misses”. They call them “good…
Read MoreMistakes Are Not Failures: Why Solving Your Own Errors Matters. (The Worksheet)
Managing people is never more important than when managing mistakes. How do you react when an employee makes an error? Do you want them to feel bad and repent? Or do you want them to learn, grow, and do better next time? Who has responsibility Last week, we talked about taking responsibility for mistakes with…
Read MoreWhy Professional Problems Happen: A Client-Centric Problem-Solving Strategy. (The Worksheet)
There’s a story about a high school nurse giving crutches to every student. If they had a nosebleed, a cold, or a cut on their arm, she gave them all crutches. Maybe it was a symbolic gesture telling students to take care of themselves. But more likely it was a simple story about solving the…
Read MoreWorking In vs. On Your Business: How To Shift Your Leadership. (The Worksheet)
You must work on your business, not in it. Since you started your business, you’ve probably heard a version of this idea every month. But what does it mean, really? How do you know when you are working ON your business rather than in it? Work ON your business Working on your business means looking…
Read More