Published:  October 26, 2006

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580 words.

Reading time:  3 - 4 minutes.

How to Quickly Spot What Is Really Going On

 by Dov Gordon

 Comment on this issue:  http://ceotp.blogspot.com/

“Why don’t our sales teams cooperate the way we need them to?!”  “We consistently miss our targets and we don’t know what to do about it.”  “No matter what our company does, the market reacts negatively.  They’ve come to hate us.”

What is really going on in these situations?

The best management consultants, and indeed, the best business leaders,  are quick to zero in on what is really going on.  They can hear about a situation and almost instantly know where to look and what questions to ask.

The secret is simple:  assimilate scores or even hundreds of mental models.  This allows you to (1) quickly identify the type of situation you are observing and then (2) quickly determine where the fulcrum is.

The better you understand patterns and models, the easier it is to realize that “We have a problem.  The market hates us.” may not be a problem at all but a situation calling for some tough decisions.  Problem solving and decision making are two distinct processes and if you mix them up things get worse.

When your two teams of sales people don’t cooperate as you’d like them to the cause is obvious:  they don’t perceive it to be in their self-interest to do so.  Exhorting, threatening and cajoling may cause temporary compliance, but don’t you really want commitment?

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EXAMPLE OF CLIENT RESULTS: 

 A client was able to focus on improving the true leverage points in his organization.  We conducted interviews with employees on multiple levels, turning up a number of previously "un-discussable" issues.  We made these issues discussable and gave them the attention they required.  Improvements

were discernable immediately and continue adding up over time.

How could you benefit from making un-discussables discussable? 

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Charlie Munger:  The Wealthiest Management Consultant

Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s partner and “the brains behind the brains at Berkshire Hathaway” is probably the wealthiest process consultant ever to have lived.

When Munger joined Berkshire Hathaway he had no particular training in investment.  Nevertheless Buffett said that Munger “instinctively understood investment about as well as anybody I’d ever met.”

But it wasn’t instinct so much as self-training.  Munger had spent decades studying all sorts of models from a variety of disciplines including mathematics, biology, psychology, economics, physics and others, always working to understand their essence and how they apply to other situations.

These models form a mental filter through which he pours any problem, opportunity or hypothesis looking for any rules, laws relationships or violations.  This is the skill that led Buffett to claim that “Charlie’s got the best 30-second mind in the world.”

The CEO Thought-Provoker™ Bottom Line:  It isn’t sufficient to be a content expert.  You need to understand the processes that form the web between the content.  The ability to look at a difficult situation and accurately identify key causes, forces and incongruities will put you well above your competitors and make you a superior leader.  The way to do this is to study patterns, models and processes.

The CEO Thought-Provoker™ Questions:

              i.      Does your organization have clear processes based on sound research for solving problems, making decisions and planning?  If you think about it, over 90% of a manager’s time is spent on these three activities.  It pays to have clear mental filters.

             ii.      Pop quiz: When people disagree, they are disagreeing about only one of two things.  What are those two things?  Post your answers to our blog.  (For the answer send me an email, or wait till next issue.)

           iii.      Possessing a range of mental models increases the odds of you accurately defining the problem.  Accurately defining the problem is more than 80% of the solution.  What is a problem you’ve been struggling with?  How have you defined the problem?  Generate one or two alternative ways to define the problem and notice the new ideas and opportunities that suddenly appear.

The Gordon Group works with organizations just like yours, helping them look at their current problems and opportunities through the appropriate mental filters. Together we quickly spot what is really going on, locate the true fulcrum and lift.  Ask us how we can help you: dov@gordongroupec.com.

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USEFUL RESOURCES:

“The Real Warren Buffett” by James O’Loughlin. http://tinyurl.com/y4tuo8   An excellent book about Buffett that also does a great job outlining how Charlie Munger’s “latticework of mental models” influenced Buffett and has played a pivotal role in Berkshire Hathaway’s success.

 Transcripts of a speech by Charlie Munger:  “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment.”  Contains many valuable insights.

http://tinyurl.com/4sfdv

An overview of some of Charlie Munger’s Mental Models:  http://tinyurl.com/w8x9f

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You can comment on this and other CEO Thought-Provokers™ at our blog:  http://ceotp.blogspot.com/

Archives of The CEO Thought-Provoker™ are here:  http://www.gordongroupec.com/articles.html

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Dov Gordon helps senior executives at small and mid-sized companies around the world to earn the respect and admiration of their marketplace.  Clients benefit from clarifying their strategies, sharpening their focus, better decision making, improved teamwork and growing into great leaders.

Management and Strategy Consulting.

Executive Coaching.

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See our recommended reading list at:   www.GordonGroupEC.com/books.html         

Copyright 2006 © by Dov Gordon.  All rights reserved.