Ben Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It’s a maxim that our organizations should definitely take to heart. We’re always gonna need people who can solve problems because no system or process is perfect. Problems WILL occur – but the most cost-effective approach, as Franklin points out, is to prevent them in the first place. Study after study has shown that it almost always takes far fewer resources to prevent problems than to solve them, but our organizations have to start incentivizing the right type of leaders – Relaxed Leaders – who are focused on problem prevention.
Relaxed Leaders need to be Problem Preventers and we need to do whatever it takes to show others the value in taking that approach. It might not be glamorous and it might appear, from the outside, to be slow and even a bit boring. But you’ll find that getting GREAT at problem prevention will allow us the time to focus on creating a clear vision, setting appropriate goals, and moving forward into a better future of our own design!
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Episode 8: Don’t be a “Problem Solver”