How to Solve Problems in 8 Easy Steps

July 21, 2009

Learning to become a proficient problem solver is the key to becoming a successful manager or entrepreneur. That is because problem solving is at the heart of the planning process. Read more

Problems Without Solutions

May 15, 2009

I don’t like to pick on companies that are no doubt providing valuable services.  But I cringe as if hearing chalk on a blackboard when companies advertise that they provide solutions.  Solutions is one of the most overused useless words. Read more

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

• Try Different — Seth Godin

  The usual mantra is to 'try harder'. Trying harder is impossible when you're already trying as hard as you can.

  But you can always try different.

  Years ago, I was creating trivia questions for a product we built for Prodigy. We had a 99% accuracy rate in doing the questions. Which was great, except there were 1800 questions in a batch, which meant 18 wrong each time, which was totally and completely unacceptable. These were honest mistakes, made by smart people working as hard as they could.

  No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't do better than 99%. So we switched our system completely and did it in a totally different way. Same number of people, same number of hours, 100% accuracy.

  If it's not working, harder might not be the answer.

• Blog Tags

  annual report Blog brand Brand advocates Branding Business Communication CEO Change Communication Communication channel communications Communications Strategy Crisis Communications culture of communication employee communication Employee Communications Employee Engagement Employee Recognition Employees as Brand Advocates Google IBM internal communication internal communications jeannette paladino Jeff Simpkins Key Messages Letter writing Mashable Media Interviews Motivation Nonverbal communication Passion Personal branding Planning Problems public relations Social Media Social Media Strategy Thank You Notes training Trust Twitter viral community Write Speak Sell Writing