MANAGEMENT
November/December 2018 | VehicleServicePros.com 41
management, resource allocation or performance
management. Th ese are thought of as
linear processes with a solution. Th e process
will apply to all of your sites.
Puzzles exist in mainly a stable environment.
To have a puzzle, the desired outcome
cannot change and the pieces can’t change, or
the puzzle won’t work.
Addressing more
complex problems
As VUCA increases, using
puzzle-solving techniques
becomes more irrelevant.
Th e new problems we are
facing are not problems at all
in the conventional sense.
Th ey are more like paradoxes
or dilemmas. Take
the problem of employee
retention. On one hand, it
is known an empowered
workforce is more stable
and more productive. On the
other hand, companies are
requiring more and better
control. Rather than a traditional
puzzle, the solution
requires the acceptance of
both of these issues.
Building muscle in solving
these higher VUCA
problems involves thinking
in terms of A and B rather
than A or B. Here are some
dilemmas we face every
day. Th e solution is to accept
both outcomes:
Frankness AND
diplomacy
Responsibility AND
freedom
Guidance AND tolerance
Confi dence AND
humility
Critical analysis AND
encouragement
Control AND
empowerment
Grounded AND
visionary
Structure AND
fl exibility
Logic AND creativity
Individual AND work
group
Planning AND
implementation
Decisiveness AND
mindfulness
Most people are great
linear thinkers and can take
action to solve a puzzle-type
problem. But, many become
unmoored when the problems
keep morphing into
these complex, no-win,
high-volatility situations.
To address these complex VUCA problems,
it is important to:
See it: Become aware that you are dealing
with a dilemma
Map it: Articulate the polarities of the dilemma,
e.g. the need for control AND the need
for empowerment/autonomy/freedom to act
Finally, shift the question we ask to
include both:
• How do we have confi dence AND humility?
• How can we improve controls by improving
empowerment?
How are the decisions you make for the
business changing? Are you in a high VUCA
situation? If so, there will be more of this. It
is important to acknowledge that it exists,
and implement strategies to address these
problems.
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