It's not easy to identify a problem. Often, we'll assume that a symptom is the problem. And that notion can create many misunderstandings as well as misdirect and interfere with the team accomplishing the tasks to work towards the right goals. I've seen teams course-correct, originally believing that they were solving a problem when they were actually solving a symptom. It didn't work out well for them.
It is easy to identify a symptom; it is hard to discover the root cause of what's happening around you. This is why this is a key step and investment in this process that is often overlooked and oversimplified. And I can't stress this enough.
Once you have a clear problem to solve, the world is more straightforward, and problems are suddenly easy to solve. This is the key to our work. This step may have the simplest output of any of the steps, but this is the diamond step. Without this work, you won't see exceptional results.
This work is typically completed with the Listening and Identify work. It is difficult to do this work on its own. But if you have research on-hand to review, it is possible to do this work alone. However, the conversation about identifying solutions often helps teams better understand the problem.
Activities:
Output or Deliverables:
We have expanded the definition of listening to include actions and observation. As we know, actions speak louder than words. Especially in the digital world, actions are the starting point to discover customer motivations and the best way to connect with customers.
We help you define the problem. After listening to customers, employees, the data, and the situation, we assess the situation. We identify symptoms and determine the root issue. Once we discover that, we identify solutions to solve the problem. Keep in mind that it is easy to identify a symptom; it is hard to discover the root cause of what's happening around you. This is far from trivial work.
Determine possible solutions to your problem. We'll identify multiple solutions to solve your problem and outline the benefits and challenges of each. We'll discuss all the options and brainstorm new ones so you and your team can decide what is best for your organization. You make the right choice for you.
Once we take action, we start listening and observing results and start the process again. We will monitor what is happening to discover new problems and determine if new symptoms appear. We will then continue work to improve results. Our goal is to ensure incremental progress and improvements.
Take the first step and contact us to see if we are a fit for your company and your team.
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