How does today's problem advance your mission?

Managers solve problems. Leaders solve the ones that advance their mission.

THINK ON IT: How does today's problem advance your mission?

As leaders, we're used to knocking off problems. We eat them for breakfast and, truth be told, we may even enjoy the rush that comes from getting them off our plate.

Think about the most significant problem that is occupying you and your leadership team today. Fix it in your mind. 

Now ask yourself: “How does solving that problem advance my mission? My strategy?”

If you have a hard time answering that question, it could be that you and your team have gotten caught up in the whirlwind of fixing problems… even if finding solutions to those problems doesn’t move your organization closer to your clearly defined future. Maybe you've lost sight of what you're trying to create in the first place. 

Problem solving is necessary, but it's not the same as creating. Feeding your system the adrenaline rush it craves by putting out unnecessary fires is going to leave you with little fuel to chase the strategic goal you set out to meet. 

Maybe the real problem you should be solving is how to get leadership attention focused on the real objective for your business, aligning your team ahead of your organization’s next renaissance. 

Paid subscribers, read for some ways to identify your mission advancing problems. (Become a paid subscriber here.)

“Where your attention goes, your time goes.” — Idowu Koyenikan

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