Ingmar has a business issue. His company is growing too fast. As a result, cash flow is threatening to become a problem. And you know what that means. No cash flow means no financial leeway.
Rapid growth sounds appealing, but Ingmar is in danger of going bankrupt with a full order book. His company is being eaten from the inside out, so to speak.
Ingmar is unable to tackle the problem. That is understandable and that is why Ingmar is with me.
What we do all the time in business – and in private life too – is solve problems all the time. Problems and issues, they keep coming. One is barely solved before another presents itself.
An issue is not always a problem, btw
Now there is a general rule that problems – although I am not a fan of it, I am using that term now – cannot be solved with the mindset that created them. You know that rule, it comes from Einstein. We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.
I myself would like to fine-tune that rule. My position is that problems should be solved at another level. Another level. With other people. The level at which that should happen is the level of abstraction.
I'll come back to that in a moment.
Ingmar's cash flow problem cannot indeed be solved with his mindset, as Einstein already knew. Ingmar's mindset is growth. He sees no other solution than to slow down growth.
That growth was the origin of the problem. That's where it originated, but that's not where the solution lies. That Ingmar goes back to the origin, that's not his fault. It's not that he lacks in his entrepreneurial skills or that he's bad at solving problems. No way. He's a really good entrepreneur and really smart. Cash flow issues arose because of the rapid growth, Ingmar was there and he was part of it.
He simply can't solve it himself
And that goes for all problems and issues. If you were there or if you are part of it, then you cannot solve it. Example: you have problems with your car. They are perfectly solvable, unless you are part of the problem with the car or if you were there from the very beginning. Another example: you have problems with a child of yours. You are part of the problem or you were there from the beginning. Another example: you suffer from an addiction and you want to get rid of it. In all these situations you cannot do it yourself – usually.
A way out of the impasse – the solution that is always there – has to be found by someone from the outside. Someone who is not part of it and who was not there. It is the same as Einstein's theorem, but with an extension.
In computer science this is common knowledge. All problems in computer science can be solved by another level of indirection. Computer science junkies with humor in my day made something like this:
“It's easier to move a problem than to solve it.”
The abstraction level is the level where you work with the simplified version of a problem. The details are then left out. It basically means that Ingmar's big issue - the rapid growth - is divided into smaller issues. For all the small elements, solutions can be found relatively easily. Each element must be solved. If you don't, the problem will remain or quickly return.
With the simplified elements you get started. Or actually: I get started. I did that before it was described in the management books. I don't actually know if there are management books written about it. I do this and I always did it this way. Determining the problem is second nature to me and strategy is my oxygen. Because it is my profession, I have helped hundreds of men and women, entrepreneurs and managers from all sectors, to solve problems and issues.
Problems and issues need to be solved on another level and with people who weren't there. Does that also apply to small problems and issues? My answer is 'yes'.
You may assume that you solve all your small obstacles independently and successfully. That is partly true. A pebble in your shoe you eventually solve yourself, although you usually walk around with it until you give yourself a stern talking to. For less serious problems you look for answers, for example on the internet or in documentation. You call the helpdesk and talk about it. Via the other level and with people who were not involved in your problem you come to solutions.
For business problems and issues, come to me.
Hans Ruinemans, boardroom monk