- This is a VUCA world,
one characterized by volatility, uncertainty,
complexity, and ambiguity,
which started before the pandemic.
But our problems are now more challenging,
compelling us to think more creatively from new angles.
One super example of this occurred in March 2020,
when Stagekings, an Australia event
and theater staging company
had all their client projects canceled
because of COVID-19 restrictions
announced by the Australian prime minister.
Facing the problem, "How do I keep everyone employed?",
CEO Jeremy Fleming
explored numerous options without success.
And within a week, everyone had to be let go.
Over the weekend, still searching for solutions,
Jeremy spoke with a former employee in Ireland,
who suggested focusing
their sophisticated craft skills and equipment
on making desks for the millions now working at home.
By Monday, they had two designs
and a 3D printed prototype,
built the online store Monday night,
sold 30 IsoKing desks day one,
and were quickly selling hundreds daily.
IsoKing now sells desks and other furniture
as a successful, established brand.
And Stagekings has diversified revenues and customers
to ensure employees have income stability going forward.
A wonderfully innovative solution
born of drastic circumstances.
But you can apply the same principles
and develop creative solutions
for any issues your group is facing.
It starts with a critical first step to clarify the problem,
which, for Jeremy, was not,
"Can we find or create new events?",
but "What projects could use our skills
"and keep our people employed?",
which gave them greater scope
to explore other possibilities.
Identifying the specific problem
is often helped by breaking it down into components
and discerning the root cause which needs addressing.
Then you are ready to consider diverse alternatives
from a variety of people
with a deliberately broad range of perspectives,
drawing out their different views.
Organize the responses and other research data you gather
to open queries such as,
"What more are our customers looking for?"
After reflection, you can hone in
on solution-oriented questions,
say, "Which two to three new products
"should we introduce in the next quarter
"to cater to customers' prioritized needs?"
During this process, evaluate potential solutions
by critically assessing the risk profiles
and probabilities of each
based on outstanding discoverable or continuing unknowns.
Plus, comparing pros and cons,
including relative resource needs and complexity.
Do you have what you need, and can you do it?
Plus, other ongoing considerations, like maintenance,
and what are the metrics of success?
After debate and analysis and choosing the optimal solution,
it's time to execute a measurable plan
to monitor and evaluate,
did you meet the goal?
Did you stay within budget?
What issues were there along the way, and why?
What could have been done differently?
This review for learning is essential
to complete an effective process,
to refine the solution if necessary,
and the framework, workflow,
and other problem-solving practices.
Facing multifaceted, interdependent, and involved issues
now requires a well-developed methodology.
Then you can tackle any problems that arise.