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Quickstart - Turn Problems into Solutions
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Quickstart
Grow a Profitable Consultancy and Still Have Time for a Life
In this issue
Note from Beverley - Workshop - Invest in Your Future
One Step Further - Turn Problems into Solutions
Personal Reflections - Things That Catch Your Attention
Note from Beverley
You may be interested in a workshop I am delivering on 18 October 2007 for the Association of MBAs. It is open to anyone and is called You and Your Career: Invest in Your Future.
* What motivates you to go out to work?
* Do you feel a lack of focus in your career?
* Is success more about who you are, what you stand for and the people you work with than just what you do?
This workshop is for anyone who wants to discover more about themselves and what really drives them; whether you are in the corporate world, a business owner or a recent graduate. You can find out more and register by visiting Invest in Your Future.
Have a good week.
Beverley
bev@onestepfurther.co.uk
www.onestepfurther.co.uk
+44 (0)1258 817647
One Step Further
There are many problem solving techniques which you can use for a variety of situations I'd like to share 2 with you today. Creativity is a key capability when finding solutions and getting a fresh perspective is a good place to start. So I am going to share 2 techniques today; The Reversal Technique and The Metaphor Technique
In the reversal technique you solve the opposite problem to your stated problem and look at what solutions might also then be appropriate for your stated problem and what causes might be preventable or removed thereby eliminating the problem completely.
For example:
Problem Stated - People don't like a smoky atmosphere in my restaurant
Reverse problem - People want a smoky atmosphere in my restaurant
If you were to solve the reverse problem how would you do it?
* Create a smoking only restaurant
* Have an advertising campaign aimed at smokers on the menu
* Filter smoky air through the air conditioning
* Have ash trays where waiters would constantly refill with lit cigarette
* Hire people to come in and smoke
Now look at how the principle of those solutions could apply to your stated problem.
Today's second option is The Metaphor Technique
In this technique you use "like a" to put your problem into a different context. For example
Problem Stated - Customers on the London to New York flights are down overall by 20% on last year
Metaphor - Garden
What are the elements of a garden?
* In a garden there are many types of plant, vegetable insect
* In a garden certain vegetables grow better at certain types of year
* A garden can mean different things to different people
* A garden can be just lawn or full of features
* A garden has weeds
* A garden needs maintenance
* Some gardens have hired gardeners to tend them
Then ask what problems could this give a garden owner?
You can do that yourselves!
Then ask, how is a flight on a specific route like a garden?
* on an aircraft there are many types of people
* certain types of people go to New York at certain times of year
* New York means different things to different people
* Flying across the Atlantic is done for many reasons e.g. business, holiday, visit relatives
* Some flights have unruly and disruptive passengers
* Passengers need looking after
* Cabin crew look after passengers
Then ask how can the solutions to the garden problem relate to the stated problem?
For example -
* Is the mix of passenger down or only certain types? If yes, what can we do to attract that type back onto the route?
* Are there peak and trough flights or are there times where passenger numbers are steady? Why is that?
* Have our customer care (maintenance) scores dropped and why?
Looking at your problem through another lens may help you see it from another angle.
Using different techniques, tools and methodologies for defining and solving problems can increase productivity, improve team work and develop creative thinking when used consistently.
As a leader/business owner take every opportunity to look at problems in different ways and from different perspectives in order that you not only define a problem correctly but that you create solutions that tackle the problem, eliminate the problem or grow opportunities from the problem.
Problems in themselves can be opportunities and you should therefore view them constructively. The idea is for you to get creative and outrageous.
"No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.
Albert Einstein
Personal Reflections
I was at a new networking event last Thursday and as usual there was an opportunity to stand up for 30 seconds and tell people about who you are and what you do. As I only had 30 seconds I decided to modify my usual "longer" introduction to the following
Hi my name is Beverley Hamilton from One Step Further. I work with independent business consultants to help them grow a profitable consultancy and still have time for a life. The way I do that is by helping them focus on 6 key strategies which are
1. Take Control of you time
2. Create a clear vision fro your future
3. Attract your ideal clients
4. Acquire raving fans
5. Build effective business systems
6. Develop a network of strategic alliances
My name is Beverley Hamilton and I help take you and your business one step further than you may choose to or be able to by yourself.
And then I sat down.
What I found interesting was that more people than usual came up to me and said that there were a few things that caught their attention and rang true for them in what I had said and could they know more.
Now I didn't think I had changed that much from what I normally say but clearly something had hit home to a number of people in that room at that time.
* Perhaps I was more to the point?
* Perhaps I was more explicit?
* Perhaps I was more direct?
* Perhaps I used language that was right for those people?
Who knows? What I do know is that I will try it again and see if I get the same results
It got me thinking that even minor changes to how we speak about what we do and how we do it can have a different effect.
So what not try it for yourself? How can you tweak your "elevator speech", your network introduction - long and short - to have a greater impact? Remember all that those 30 seconds are intended to do is to get a prospective, ideal client to come up to you and say "please tell me more"
Best Regards
Bev
bev@onestepfurther.co.uk
www.onestepfurther.co.uk
+44 (0)1258 817647 |
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