Simple Solutions

A colleague of mine was once in a family  construction business with her husband.  One day she shared a story on how they did something so simple to improve the morale and production of their crew by simply listening and paying attention to their needs.

If you’ve had construction done or been in the business you know  they start working when the sun comes up. 

Their crew was young, enjoyed staying up too late and sleeping in to the last minute, and Renee noticed they all came to work hungry, with tummies grumbling for food and most days barely made it to work on time.  Plus, they were grumpy and had a hard time getting along.  

So she and her husband decided to start buying breakfast every morning as a perk of the job.   

Immediately there was a boost in morale and the crews productivity soared! They started coming into work a little earlier and worked with more energy throughout the day.  

The return for this small investment paid for itself with ease, and I love this idea because it was simple, effective, and smart.  

Have you ever made something  more complicated than it should be?  

When faced with problems, good leaders think of more than one option to resolve the issue.  Good leaders think outside of the box and make simple solutions part of the process.  

Here are 4 tips to keep your solutions simple:

Listen and learn what the real problem at hand is.  Before you give, consult, and take action it is important to listen and watch carefully the issues at hand to make sure you truly know what the problem is.  

Put yourself in their shoes.  If this is a customer with a technical issue, an employee with an addiction problem, or your son who can’t find his shoes every morning, try to see the problem through their eyes.

Think about 3 possible solutions and write them down.  Use your brain and stop to think.  This sounds like an easy thing to do but in our busy worlds I don’t think we stop to think about solving problems in simple ways.  

Take action and don’t look back (too quickly).  I think it’s important to look back and reflect on important decisions that we’ve made because that’s how we learn, grow, and get better.  

So the next time you are faced with a problem, I hope you think of these 4 things and put them to action like the leader you are called to be.  One of passion, integrity, simplicity, and authenticity.   

Thanks for reading and please share your thoughts with me on leadership by emailing jeremymeek@icloud.com or posting a comment below. Please share this post with someone who needs it and lead on!