Business Problems Solved Podcast

In this episode of the podcast, host Lee is joined by guest Sam Morgan to discuss the challenges and mindset shifts involved in starting your own business and helping others as a change leader. Sam shares his personal journey from being introduced to Lean principles to realizing his passion for empowering people and helping them unlock their potential. They delve into the importance of building tr...

Lee shares a personal experience that has made him reflect on the importance of making challenges and changes feel real for people. He discusses his decision to participate in two charity events, the London Marathon and a 100-kilometre ultra event, and how it only became real for him when he started sharing it with others and receiving donations. Lee explores the significance of emotional attachme...

Lee discusses the importance of silence in both the external and internal world. He emphasises the need to create spaces for silence in meetings to allow people time to think and truly engage in the conversation. Lee challenges listeners to consider their comfort level with silence and how it affects their ability to listen and ask better questions. He suggests avoiding padding or justifying quest...

Lee explores the difference between getting by and getting better in business. He emphasises the importance of asking the right questions to promote continuous improvement and challenges leaders to reflect on the questions they ask their teams. Lee discusses the three key factors to consider when asking questions: the type of question, the environment in which it is asked, and the person being ask...

In this episode, I delve into the intriguing concept of "empty happiness" and "empty improvement." It's fascinating how we often confuse fleeting moments of joy with genuine, lasting happiness that we experience when we look back on our life's journey. This parallels the world of business, where I've witnessed countless instances of efforts aimed at improvement that ultimately lead to no substanti...

In this special episode, host Lee takes a reflective journey by engaging in conversations with his two children, Jack and India. Jack, aged 10, shares his insights on what makes a good manager, drawing from his love of football and admiration for figures like Elon Musk. Meanwhile, 8-year-old India expresses her aspirations to become a teacher or business worker, emphasising the importance of helpi...

Lee discusses the challenge that many organisations face when it comes to deploying their strategies effectively. He emphasises the importance of engaging employees and creating a more meaningful and collaborative approach to strategy deployment. Lee introduces a framework of three key questions: Why are we doing this, what do our people need to be, and what elements do we need in place to achieve...

Lee explores the concept of opportunities and how they are perceived and acted upon. He shares a simple anecdote about a coin glued to the floor to illustrate how some people may not see opportunities while others may misinterpret them. Lee emphasizes the importance of mindset, work ethic, and consistent questioning in recognizing and seizing opportunities for improvement.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Opportuni...

Rather than being a black-or-white question, the gap between safe and strong tends to be a sliding scale as only caution can build safety and only risk can result in strength. Lee looks at this balancing conundrum in the context of creating change. KEY TAKEAWAYS Initially, you may want your people to be safe so they can confidently try repeatedly and possibly fail more comfortably. Do you provide...

In this episode of Business Problems Solved, host Lee Horton draws an unexpected analogy between change management and sun cream. He reflects on his recent family holiday and compares the role of change management in protecting individuals from the harmful effects of change to the function of sun cream in shielding people from the sun. Lee emphasises the importance of recognising that change affec...

When applying change in various organisations Lee has found resistance a common problem. In this episode, he identifies the key reasons why it is so often encountered and how you can circumvent them.   KEY TAKEAWAYS We need to share what we are thinking clearly with everyone when we explain the reasons for change. If people do not understand the rationale behind the decisions it is easy for them t...

How do you create an ongoing strategy to facilitate change in the long term rather than just being reactive to current problems? Lee notes some key points to bear in mind when forming a  plan for others to follow to create change well into the future as well as right now. KEY TAKEAWAYS Use technology to help to achieve your goals. Systemically find problems to solve by engaging your people, metric...

Lee reflects on the past five years since his friend Chris’ passing as well as Chris’ three lessons that have been so intrinsic in leading change in that time, and his dive into those lessons that he has experienced since his loss.  KEY TAKEAWAYS When you allow people to be themselves, we are all so vastly different. It’s our differences that make progress possible. Always be your authentic self....

Lee discusses how amongst change leaders when challenging people’s thinking to move closer to the goal,  your credibility can be much more important than your ability to influence.  KEY TAKEAWAYS A challenge can be uncomfortable, but the important thing is your subject’s view of you and your credibility in their opinion.  It can often be easier to gain credibility as an external change person.  Bu...

The ‘Say, Do Gap’ is the delay between when people say they are going to do something and when they actually do it or the difference in quality between what they say they are going to achieve and what they actually produce. Lee talks about an extra stage in this process, the ‘Think Feel’ stage.  KEY TAKEAWAYS If we can influence the thoughts and feelings of our people then we have a chance of infl...

In this episode of Business Problem Solved, Lee chats with Steve Rames, a global director of a Fortune 100 American corporate. Steve shares his journey from a YTS scheme to a corporate director, his passion for Lean, and the importance of honesty and hard work. Lee and Steve discuss Steve's journey from a production line to a global director, his experience with Lean and Six Sigma, and the importa...

One measure of a successful meeting can be the amount and share of vocal engagement experienced during the discussion. However, this is far from being an absolute requirement and there are exceptions as Lee explains in this episode.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Sometimes people are fully engaged when they are thinking.  People often fill space vocally as this is often rewarded. Silence is necessary. Silence occ...

In this episode, Lee chats with James Edmondson, an experienced and results-oriented Agile leader and systemic team coach, with a reputation for working collaboratively with senior teams in both operational and head office environments. He is a people focussed leader with highly attuned emotional intelligence that enables strong relationships at all levels and also a veteran with over 20 years of...

Lee rounds off his 3 Things series with 3 more important, thought-provoking points highlighted throughout the past few weeks. Here is a reflective summary of the choosing and honing of the ten topics covered. KEY TAKEAWAYS Thinking about the ten most valuable areas to discuss has been a worthwhile, constructive task. Having to narrow down to 3 most important points forces focus and clarity on all...

As always, Lee encourages you to think, feel and do in depth about the 3 things about Coaching. Take a close look at Coaching and it’s importance as a skill in all workplaces in all its variations as a method for developing people towards desirable goals. KEY TAKEAWAYS Clarity of intent and destination. Coaching can only be attempted with a clear and definable goal to move towards. Prioritise ques...

In various situations, our standards differ and in terms of change, improvement and problem solving it can be difficult to decide where to set expectations to regard goals and targets as being met. Lee defines the 3 things that need to be considered when setting standards.   KEY TAKEAWAYS The standards need to be in line and support the reason why you are there.  They need to be visible and review...

In this ‘3 Things’ episode, Lee talks about the tools we all need to use to identify quantitively if our changes and improvements are successful, our chosen measures and metrics. What 3 things do we need to bear in mind to use these tools effectively?   KEY TAKEAWAYS Aligned to purpose. Ensure the chosen metric is the exact measure of the team’s success. Meaningful to each layer. The figures shoul...

The creation of this mini-series has forced Lee to distil the complications of his chosen topics down to 3 easy to understand, most important points and in this episode, he is concentrating on Leadership. This time our 3 are Vision, Communication and Teamwork. KEY TAKEAWAYS Set a clear understandable direction. This creates motivation, passion and a shared target. The importance that people are cl...

Problem Solving can be a highly discussed topic with many differing opinions on methods. However, at this mid-point in his ‘3 Things’ series of episodes, rather than concentrating on method, Lee explains the 3 blocks that he feels you will encounter during your Problem Solving approach.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Finding problems, not solving them. Often locating the problems can be more difficult than solvin...

Lee introduces 3 important things that will make you think, feel and act differently concerning Visual Management. The fourth episode in the ‘3 things’ will explain how you can cue actions or activities based on the visuals and other sensory input that you share with your team.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Visual Management should provide focus and clarity for everybody on the important points.  It provides an...