The Real Problem

The real problem is rarely what we think it is. Here are some actual problems that businesses have faced. Note how far the real problem was from what their owners thought it was.

Problem #1

I tell my administrative staff what I need them to do, why it’s important and the benefits we’ll gain from accomplishing these tasks. The following week, nothing has been done. I repeat the process, again emphasizing the importance of accomplishing the tasks. Again, nothing gets done. I can’t get my employees to do what they need to do.

The real problem

You’re dictating what your employees will do. Somewhere around age 2 we begin resisting having others tell us what to do. That resistance grows with age and wisdom.

You’re also depriving them of the opportunity to employ their creativity in crafting a solution. It’s human nature to buy into and act quickly upon solutions we helped craft.

The real problem is your communications style. Engage your employees in crafting approaches to what you’re trying to accomplish and you’ll get quick results.

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Problem #2

I recently embraced a premium price strategy. I spoke to a group where, without exception, each audience member said that they’d never pay my price. I’m concerned that I’m pricing myself out of the market.

The real problem

You’re fishing in the wrong pond. Your audience was women teachers. Teachers have limited incomes and few career advancement opportunities. You need to speak to groups of women who have upper 5 to 6-figure incomes, significant career advancement opportunities and families. They not only can afford your services, they value them highly.

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Problem #3

I grew my business from $400,000 to $600,000, but my profits didn’t grow proportionately. I want to grow to a million dollars, but I want to profits to grow as well.

The real problem

In your quest to grow revenues, you’ve taken on work that’s more geographically dispersed without incorporating the additional costs involved in your pricing. Also, the suppliers in those areas are going to be more loyal to their local customers than to you. If you need materials quickly or need quick repairs to your equipment, your costs are going to rise exponentially…with no way to recover these costs AND you’re going to experience costly delays.

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Problem #4

My competitors are in a race to the bottom on pricing. I’m concerned that I’m going to lose customers.

The real problem

More than likely, there has been a decline in differentiation among competitors in your industry. The simplest way to counteract this is to spend time with your existing customers and asking:

• How are you using our offerings?
• What workarounds are your people employing because it isn’t doing what they need?
• What would make your and their lives easier?
• How are your customers’ demands changing?
• How can we help you meet these changing demands?

Help your customers consistently meet their customers’ ever-changing demands and you’ll never have to worry about losing them.

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Problem #5

Your major competitor added offerings. You follow suit to avoid losing customers to them, only to find that your margins are plummeting like a space capsule returning to earth.

The real problem

You didn’t assess the impact your competitor’s decision would have on their business before deciding to follow their lead. If you had, you’d have realized the margin impact they were going to experience and avoided making the same mistake. When adding new offerings make sure that the margins are at least as high, if not higher, than those you’re currently getting.

Literary license

In these examples, I wrote them as if you had made these mistakes. I did so because I wanted you to feel what you would have felt had you made them. Feelings (emotions) create memories and I want these examples to be memorable in an attempt to help you avoid them in the future.

Getting to the real problem

These examples illustrate how different the real problem is from the one initially perceived. They don’t, however, offer any insights into how to get to the real problem more quickly, or better yet, avoid experiencing the real problem.

“Don’t Fly Alone” is a concept espoused by my friend Fred Miler, No Sweat Public Speaking, and championed by my friend, Bill Prenatt, Simply Successful. What Fred and Bill understand so clearly is that emotions cloud our thinking and judgment. They know that In moments of fear, anxiety and frustration, we often make our worst decisions.

The “Don’t Fly Alone” message states very clearly that we need savvy business people whom we can trust to tell us the truth AND we need to seek their counsel whenever we experience high levels of emotion. We need to contact them before making any decision. That’s how you get to the real problem more quickly, or better yet, avoid a real problem altogether.

Takeaways

When faced with fear, anxiety and frustration, find a trusted advisor and seek their counsel. They will help you avoid making emotional decisions, which are typically the worst decisions we ever make.

By the way, while this post has been framed in the context of your business, it works equally well with relationship issues.

Walking the talk

In case you’re wondering, I am a member of two mastermind groups with people whose wisdom, candor and genuine concern for my welfare have accelerated the success I enjoy. I am religious about my attendance at our monthly meetings because I receive such sage advice on a consistent basis. I also contact them between meetings to seek their counsel before I implement ideas I have. They’ve helped me avoid problems on numerous occasions.

If you’ve found this post helpful, please share it with your friends. It’s a great way to let them know how much you care.

If you’d like the leaders in your organization to learn how to use the numbers more effectively and dramatically improve the productivity of your workforce, contact me to learn more about these resources:

Resources

Making the EXCEPTIONAL Normal program helps you identify and nurture emerging leaders who elevate all around them to higher levels of performance and greater job enjoyment.

Financial Awareness & Strategy program where employees learn to identify opportunities to improve financial results and prioritize these opportunities on the basis of which produces the greatest impact with the least effort. Greater financial awareness = Better decisions.