"Rethink your strategy for success." Judith Miller, Remodelers Advantage Consultant

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Examine Your Process to Solve Business Issues

When frustrations arise in a business, it’s natural to assume that an employee is the problem. Instead of making that assumption, the folks at Anthony Wilder Design/Build, Inc., take a different approach to get to the root of the problem. Principals and managers at the Cabin John, Md.-based remodeling firm use a trouble-shooting tool that leads them through a series of probing questions to assess what caused a performance issue and what could have been done to improve the outcome. The tool, called the “Key Frustrations Process,” was provided by consultant Penny Braun.

“In using the Key Frustrations Process, we focus on what is wrong with our process that resulted in the frustration rather than focusing on accusations or blaming ourselves or others,” says president Elizabeth Wilder .

In a nutshell, the process consists of seven steps:

1. Identify the problem.
2. Restate the problem as a system-caused (not personnel-caused) issue.
3. Ask questions of yourself to determine how the problem impacts your business and identify the results you are not getting because of the problem.
4. Think of a system you could design to help resolve the problem.
5. Determine if you want to focus on solving the problem or if you would rather live with it for now.
6. Design the system you identified in step 4—or modify an existing system to eliminate the problem and achieve the results you want.
7. Put the system into place, train employees in its usage, and monitor it. Fine-tune the system as needed.

The remodeler has been using this strategy for about 4 years and has found that it has improved teamwork as well as the company’s processes. “It has helped us evolve personally and professionally,” says Wilder.

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