As mentioned in the previous post “The Reluctant Pilot”, I logged a number of hours flying to eastern Oregon to a location the company had out there. Many times, the weather would be somewhat marginal, and I would drop down into the Columbia Gorge to make my way out east, and once past Cascade Locks often found favorable weather.
One such return trip I encountered very poor weather conditions, and the clouds were getting lower and lower. I had passed Cascade Locks and ran into very severe weather and could not go any further, so I turned the plane around and found that the weather had closed in behind me as well. Now this was a serious problem. Lucky for me, I was well aware of the small landing strip located at Cascade Locks. I had to swing out low under the clouds to make my approach and skimmed just above the treetops and below the clouds to make my landing. It was a scary situation and required my focus and complete attention. It was something I did not want repeated and was a valuable lesson learned.
Problem Solving in Business
In business, problem solving is a continuous process. In almost all cases organizations are formed to solve problems, to bridge the gap between current state and the desired future. In recent years it has become common practice to avoid using the word problem and to call them opportunities. In my case of running into poor weather in the gorge, was not considered an opportunity, it was a problem and calling it an opportunity wouldn’t help. It’s not much different in business. Attempting to hide or avoid problems by calling them opportunities tends to waste everyone’s time and energy. Remember organizations are formed to solve problems and there is nothing wrong with calling a problem what it is. Great organizations are not afraid to acknowledge that problems exist and do not fear calling them what they are.
If you would like assistance in clarifying your direction and solving problems in your business, and the help to monitor and adjust along the way to ensure that you arrive at your intended destination, we can help you in so many ways. With over 40 years of C-level business experience and an MBA in organizational development, I am uniquely qualified to help you achieve success in your business. Just give us a call. 503-312–3145
Leave a Reply