Don’t Think Of Them As Problems…Only Work

I spent several years as the CEO of an organization that was going through tremendous change. We were acquired by a company in a foreign country; then we had a merger, our entire product line shifted, and the economy had a downturn.

Now the funny thing about problems is they float. That’s right; problems float!

Problems Float!
The higher you are on the totem pole, the more problems and crises come your way. If you are the CEO, every crisis eventually finds its way to your desk. So every day, people would come into my office and say, “Boss, we have a problem.”

Imagine the stress. Imagine the pain of having nothing but problems and crises all day long. After a while, it just got to be too much. I was under tremendous stress and was really beginning to feel the strain.

It all changed with one simple idea.

I sent out a decree that the word “problem” was no longer allowed in my office. Period. End of the discussion.

I was just too tired of hearing that word to have it thrown at me even one more time.

So, all the managers and employees said, “Well, what are we supposed to call it then?”

“Call it work,” I replied.

And so they did.

After all, think about it. If sales are down, it means you have some selling, or new product development, or advertising, or marketing work to do. If a customer has a complaint, it means you have some claims processing or quality improvement work to do. If an employee quits, you have recruiting work to do, followed by a review of your compensation system, evaluation system, and training system.

It is all just work.

So in they came.

“We have some sales work to do!”

“I see. Well, get on with it then; that is, after all, why you were hired in the first place!”

I ended up going home every day at 4:30 because every employee and manager began to think in terms of work instead of problems.

And work will solve every problem that we have!