The 21 Laws of Leadership: How to Develop the Qualities of a Leader

Chapter 16 Problem Solving: Standing Up When Facing Challenging Problems
Problem Solving
You can tell what a leader is capable of by the problems he solves.People tend to choose to tackle difficult problems that match their level of ability.

—John C. Maxwell

The measure of a person's success is not whether he is facing difficulties, but whether these difficulties recur.

—John Foster Dulles, former U.S. Secretary of State
walmart miracle
Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, the world's largest supermarket chain, has received many criticisms, including "the enemy of small-town America" ​​and "the destroyer of downtown stores".Indeed, many small stores were forced to close down as Wal-Mart grew, and Walton admits that some people always try to frame this transformation with controversial indictments, such as calling for "save small town merchants." , as if the traders were endangered whales or bald eagles.In fact, Walton originally ran a small-town store, and it was exactly the kind of small store that would disappear with the advent of Wal-Mart.The only difference is that Walton is a great leader who can keep up with trends, solve problems, and make changes instead of seeing his own business go out of business.

Sam Walton was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, and grew up in Columbia, Missouri.He showed his leadership skills in high school: he was successfully elected as the president of the student body; he served as the quarterback of the football team and led the team all the way to the state championship; The team won the state championship.

After college, Walton worked for several years, enlisting in the U.S. Army during World War II.After retiring from the army, he chose to start working in the retail industry, which he loved.He and his wife settled in Bentonville, Arkansas, and opened a store called Walton's Fifty, which became Wal-Mart.

Walton's business prospered, partly because of his hard work, but also because of his far-sighted approach to customer choice, a new concept at the time.He worked hard and kept expanding the business.By 1960, Walton had 15 locations.But around this time, Walton's competitor, Herb Gibson, introduced the discount store model to northwest Arkansas.That puts Walton's Grocery in direct competition.

"We really had two options," Walton said in his autobiography "Made in America," "stay in the grocery business and wait for the wave of discounters to sink us; Or try opening a discount store too. So I started traveling around the country and studying the discount store model. On July 1962, 7, we opened the first Wal-Mart in Roger, Arkansas, along the Bentonville Just walk down the highway."

Soon Walton opened a new branch.Compared with other chain stores at the time, such as Kmart, Target, Voco, etc., Wal-Mart is still relatively small, but its growth momentum is rapid.But then a new problem arose.Walton realized the need to improve the store layout as well as the distribution system.He and his staff solved this problem by establishing a central distribution center.Wal-Mart has realized computerized management, so that they can purchase a large number of goods, understand the needs of each branch, and quickly and efficiently distribute sales to the branch.But the problem is always unfinished. The equipment and construction costs of Wal-Mart's new distribution center have brought them heavy debts.This problem was not resolved until 1970, when Wal-Mart went public.

When Walton died in 1992, Wal-Mart already had 1700 stores in 42 states in the United States, and it had also entered the Mexican market.Sam Walton, a small-town grocer who went on to become America's largest retailer.And, after his death, Wal-Mart has continued to grow, riding the waves with leadership that successfully solved the problems Wal-Mart and its Sam's Club were facing.

What is the ability to solve problems
Effective leaders like Sam Walton face problems with their heads held high.This is the difference between the successful and the self-pitying.While other retailers complained about the competition they faced, Walton faced up to the odds and used creativity and perseverance to solve problems.

No matter what field a leader is in, he always faces problems.Problems are inevitable for three reasons: first, we live in an increasingly complex and diverse world; second, we interact with people; and third, we We cannot control all the situations we face.

Leaders who are good problem solvers often display the following five qualities.

1. They can predict when problems will arise

Since problems are inevitable, good leaders anticipate them.Anyone who thinks the road ahead is smooth will eventually find himself among thorns.I once heard the story of David Livingstone, a missionary to Africa, that exemplifies the kind of mindset leaders need.Once, a missionary organization wanted to send people to Livingston, so the person in charge of the organization wrote to Livingston: "Has the road been repaired where you are? If it is repaired, we will send you people."

Livingston replied: "If the people you want to send only want to go to the place where the road is repaired, then I don't think they should come. The people I want should be able to work where there is no road." If you have a mentality Be positive and prepare for the worst, and you will find that you can cope with the problems when they come.

2. They can face reality
People usually have three reactions to problems: first, refuse to accept difficulties; second, reluctantly accept difficulties and overcome them with difficulty;Leaders must do one last thing.

Announcer Paul Harvey said, "When faced with a difficult situation, remind yourself that I've been through it before." No leader can lead his own team with his head in the sand. The subordinates overcame all obstacles.Effective leaders are always able to face reality.

3. They see the big picture
Leaders always look at the big picture.They cannot be disturbed by emotions, nor can they be influenced by trivialities and ignore more important things.Author Alfred A. Montapert said: "Most people only see obstacles, while few people focus on goals. History will only be written for the achievements of the latter, and the former will disappear."

4. They tend to solve one problem at a time

Richard Sloma once offered his advice: "Don't try to solve all the problems at once, put them in order and solve them one by one."

Troubled leaders tend to be overwhelmed with too many problems to solve them well.If you have many problems, make sure you solve one before moving on to the next.

5. They don’t give up on their primary goals even when they hit a low point

Effective leaders understand that life has ebbs and flows.They make big decisions when times are good and avoid big moves when times are low.American football star Bob Christian said: "I never think about retiring during the difficult moments in season training." He knows not to make the decision to give up when he is at a low ebb.

Self-reflection: Do you have the ability to solve problems
Author George Matthew Adams said, "What you think in your head is more important than anything else in your life, including how much money you make, where you live, your social status, and what other people think of you. .” With each question, you come to know yourself more clearly.You will know the way you think and who you really are.

How do you react when you are faced with a problem?Do you ignore it and hope he disappears as soon as possible?Do you feel overwhelmed when you solve a problem?When you solved problems in the past, did you have a bad experience and gave up on solving them?

Or are you willing to face and solve problems?Effective problem-solving ability is based on one's own experience of facing and solving problems.Every time you solve a problem, you progress a little.But if you give up trying, you'll never solve the problem.

A "prescription" for improving your problem-solving skills

To improve your problem-solving skills, here are some things you can try.

1. Look for problems
If you've been avoiding problems, now you're trying to actively seek them out.You can only make progress if you try to solve the problem.Find some situations that need to be improved, propose several feasible solutions, and submit this solution to a leader who is good at solving problems.You can learn a lot from his problem-solving way of thinking.

2. Develop a set of patterns

Some people are bad at solving problems because they don't know how to solve them.You can try the following TEACH mode:

TIME: Take some time to find the problem.

EXPOSURE (contact): See how others solve it.

ASSISTANCE: Your team has different angles.

CREATIVITY: Try brainstorming and coming up with multiple options.

HITIT (action): Execute best practices.

3. Make friends with problem solvers

If you're not good at problem solving, get a good guy on your team.They can quickly complement you, and you can learn a lot from them.

It is not the difficulties that stump people, but themselves
Boxer Gene Tunny once beat Jack Dempsey for the world heavyweight title.What many people don't know is that when Downey first got into boxing, he was very good at throwing hard punches.But just before he was about to turn professional, his hands were broken.Doctors and managers told him that he could not win the world championship.But none of this stopped him from moving forward.

Downey said: "If I can't win the championship with heavy punches, then I will win with cleverness." He kept learning, and later Downey became a boxing world champion with the best skills in the world.

Remember, never let other people stand in the way of your dreams.

(End of this chapter)