Put your shoulder into it!

Todd Ordal //August 8, 2011//

Put your shoulder into it!

Todd Ordal //August 8, 2011//

The afternoon of last New Year’s Eve was a great ski day. Two friends and I were cycling Resolution Bowl at Copper Mountain. After our fourth or fifth lap, I stopped next to my friend, my legs like jelly, and fell into the trough of the bump I stopped on, landing on my shoulder. It hurt enough to be worrisome, but we finished the day in grand style.

A few days later, post MRI, I knew I needed surgery but wanted to get through the ski season before I fixed it. I had no pain when my hand was in the correct pole position, so it seemed like a good option and I accomplished my objective. Adaptive action versus corrective action. Six months later, I had the shoulder repaired but am still struggling through physical therapy. Because I delayed corrective action, my shoulder froze to the point that I needed help putting on a shirt.

A simple but brilliant way to look at problem solving is through a double-axis chart such as the one below. (The old book “The New Rational Manager” by Kepner and Tregoe is a great resource for this.)

Decision_making_ordal.jpg

My past problem was my shoulder injury. I decided to deal with the effect rather than the cause, taking adaptive action when I probably should’ve taken corrective action. (I can argue that I had a great ski season, but my wife would tell you that many household chores were put off because of my “bad” shoulder! Sorry, honey, I would like to help, but….)

I see too many problems in companies dealt with through adaptive versus corrective action. Weak players are worked around. Bad strategy is shored up through extra, resource-sucking tactics that don’t work well. We increase compensation to deal with turnover when the dysfunctional culture isn’t corrected.

The result? Just like my frozen shoulder, the company gets “bound up” so tightly that it cannot function as well as it should. The delay in corrective action usually results in much more painful action at a later date, sometimes major surgery!

All four problem-solving actions can be appropriate, but I see too much adaptive action when problems should be corrected. Step back and look at your systems and processes, and then ask yourself which ones were put in place as adaptive measures when you should’ve taken corrective action.

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