Articles for category: Leadership

October 24, 2020

Greg Thomas

Understanding vs Knowing

We all know about problems. There are too many that exist right now to not know about problems that governments, companies and people are trying to solve. But do we understand the problem? Do we understand and appreciate all the intricacies and minutia that go into the problem? Do we grasp the context that is forming the problem and the data that is outlining what it is and what must be done to resolve it? Too often we accept Knowing the problem as acceptance for Understanding the problem, when they are so very different. It’s that chasm between Knowing and

October 20, 2020

Greg Thomas

Rethink the Problem

Factors change. Results come in. Experiments succeed and fail. What you thought you knew was the problem, might not have been the problem at all. Don’t get frustrated or even worse, give up. Step back, rethink the problem, approach it from a different angle. Move forward.

October 19, 2020

Greg Thomas

The Hard Conversations are not Getting Easier

In fact they are getting harderer and the more you keep ignoring them, the more you keep brushing them under the rug, the more you keep pushing them to the side, the harder it gets to have the conversation. When everyone was on-site (that sounds better than on-premise) you could linger in the conference room and have that side chat to discuss the outcome of the meeting and next steps. But that rarely happens in the remote world, everyone is in a hurry to jump off the call and head to their next one. For this reason, this is why

October 17, 2020

Greg Thomas

Under the Rug

As far as expressions go, Sweeping it under the Rug is one of those sayings that bring up images of covering things up, hiding “stuff” or worst, simply ignoring what happened and moving on. There is a great episode of the Simpsons where Homer is put in charge of garbage and keeps sweeping the garbage under the rug (i.e., the city) until it explodes from golf courses and manholes. That’s what happens when you don’t deal with the problem and try to hide it. It’s always there, it never gets better until it explodes at the worst possible moment.

October 15, 2020

Greg Thomas

Everyone Needs to Own It

A problem on the team, is a team problem to solve. It’s not one person’s problem. It’s not the people most familiar with the problem. It’s the entire team. If your team isn’t owning the problem, if they don’t all feel that sense of ownership and need to do something to make it better. Then they are not owning it. And if your team isn’t owning it, that just became your new problem. Why won’t my team accept responsibility and why won’t they own this.

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