Business Problems Solved Podcast

In this episode Lee continues his ‘There’s Always 3 Things’ series and sets out the 3 most important things to consider about your all-important daily team meeting. After this, you will think, feel and do more when it comes to structuring your regular updates and discussions.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Daily meetings are an opportunity to engage everyone and have two-way conversations. An opportunity to conne...

The latest in Lee’s series on the power of 3 takes a look at Customer Experience. What 3 things can you consider when focusing on consumers that can challenge you, refresh your viewpoint and make you apply changes to the way you currently deliver your Customer Experience? KEY TAKEAWAYS Customer experience is about the full journey, from awareness, through to purchase and then follow-up. To provide...

In this episode Lee takes a look at the 3 main points when forming positive habits to benefit our organisations. How do we create those automatic actions effectively in ourselves and our team that can become parts of the system and problem solving solutions that we need?   KEY TAKEAWAYS One of our favourite definitions of ‘culture’ is the sum of all of the habits that exist within our organisation...

Lee begins his ‘3 Things’ mini series with the 3 things he believes makeup Operational Excellence. He will guide you to help you ‘know, feel and do’ in a new way in regards to Operational Excellence to challenge you or help your confidence so you can take action effectively as a leader of change.  KEY TAKEAWAYS The first is an environment that works daily towards a particular destination. The seco...

3 seems to be a culturally significant digit and Lee is running with this, creating a mini-series over the coming weeks on a number of problem-solving subjects titled The 3 Things About... KEY TAKEAWAYS Have you ever thought of why the number 3 is significant? The rule of 3 is a powerful technique used in writing and speaking. Whittle it down to the 3 most important priorities for your team. BEST...

One habit is the differentiator between an environment that sustains and improves and one that does not. The habit that we should all commit to installing in our repertoire is continuous improvement. Lee explains how to make today continuously better than yesterday. KEY TAKEAWAYS By ensuring leaders ask better questions a system of continuous improvement can be installed. There is a difference bet...

When leading people we often look at things on a macro level. Detailing to a micro level can help you change a culture. Culture is a conglomeration of formed habits, and you need to identify the habit loops present and alter them to make any headway in changing culture.   KEY TAKEAWAYS The Habit Loop is the structure of a habit, made up of cues, routine and reward.   To understand habits you need...

One of the most important aspects of driving change in a team or as a change manager is asking the right questions, but is there any worth in repeating questions previously asked? Lee believes asking the same question in the right setting and with the right intent can benefit you as a leader of people and change and he explains why.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Lee asks weekly ‘how have you felt this week?’ and...

When asking better questions, how comfortable are you with silence as a response? Not all questions require a yes or no answer and a team’s strength is built with open-ended questions that require more thought. Is your discomfort with silence causing unconsidered answers and thus unsatisfactory solutions?  KEY TAKEAWAYS Fundamentally, becoming more comfortable with silence can help you with coachi...

Have you got enough time? If not, you probably need to prioritise. If you place everything in your ‘in-tray’ into your ‘urgent’ tray, then you are probably going to be eternally frustrated. Lee takes a look at how you can denote what needs doing now. KEY TAKEAWAYS What is the most important thing for you to do today? Fundamentally, despite outside pressures, you can only really have one priority a...

You cannot solve problems in a business if you cannot even find them. Encouraging and training team members to locate problems is a first step to making real progress towards solutions. Lee explains the qualities and mechanisms to put in place to create an army of problem finders.  KEY TAKEAWAYS When something is big enough to quantify as a problem then we often have strategies in place to then fi...

In this episode, Lee wants to talk to you about simplicity. Over complication is the enemy of comprehension so when leading people keep it concise and simple to facilitate better understanding with those you lead. KEY TAKEAWAYS Often when in change mode we can become over enthusiastic and overload a task explanation to a team member decreasing their comprehension, knowledge and confidence in the c...

Lee goes back to basics and discusses some of the common pitfalls of business change. You may recognise some of these problems in your own change team and systems as many people have before. Listen in and see if you can avoid these problems before they occur. KEY TAKEAWAYS Immediate success and instant change is rare to impossible. Change is a process and a journey.  Communicate clearly to achieve...

Whose job is it to create motivation? Having a reason to take action is the meaning of ‘motivation’, but whose role is it to demonstrate the reasons to act? The fact is everyone needs a reason to do what they do, but what is the best motivation for your team to not only apply themselves but to do so energetically and enthusiastically?  KEY TAKEAWAYS We have to have clarity of understanding of the...

We are not asking our people and each other enough questions as leaders. When we speak of engagement we need to engage the heart, hands and mind. Lee delves deeper into this concept of questions and answers and asks if, with all the technology providing instantaneous answers, are we losing the habit of asking each other questions at all?  KEY TAKEAWAYS We need to create an environment where we are...

Happy 2023! We are about to start the New Year which of course means new years’ resolutions made in good faith and zealously followed for, perhaps, a month and then dropped like yesterday’s old chip fat-soaked newspaper until 2024. Lee is here with his 3 most relevant and attention-worthy business problems that you should be addressing in 2023.  KEY TAKEAWAYS How do you plan and execute in continu...

What is the difference between an Internal and External Improvement Person, be that a Coach, Consultant or Change Practitioner? Lee has been both and in this episode will detail not only the differences but the commonalities, be it the way the two are perceived by their team or those they are working with, the preconceived notions of seniority or the level of credibility offered and maintained.  K...

Feedback is often seen as one of the main drivers for improvement, but the nature of that feedback can have a direct bearing on the continuation of the task and the satisfaction and motivation of the staff members involved. Lee explains the feedback ‘sandwich’, the relevant time and forum for feedback, your relationship with the person you are approaching and how you encourage development and lear...

In improving the working environment the action of adding tools and changes is often reduced to a box-ticking exercise and not approached as a continuous ongoing task requiring regular attention and updating. Lee is here to encourage you to not let all your approaches slide away and degrade and to keep up that constant improvement.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Introduce every new tool on a timeline to keep a cl...

Our comprehension of specific words is often informed by the experience of learning its meaning, where we got it from or the person who taught us, for example. In this way, our communication should concentrate on what has been heard, rather than what has been said to avoid misunderstandings. Is your teams understanding of a high performing team in sync?     KEY TAKEAWAYS To gain an understanding o...

This episode's guest is Chris Rainsforth, an award-winning Customer Contact Specialist who has been in the Industry for over 15 years working in both in-house and outsourced contact centres, holding roles in Operations, Training and Support Functions across Front & Back Offices. Chris has experience in developing multi-site, multi-culture and multi-channel change programmes, working across global...

This episode's guest is Matt Grady. Born in Leeds, Matt is a thoroughly sporty chap and became a professional golfer which took him to the PGA and via Oxford to Dubai and the United Arab Emirates setting up golf courses until the financial crash of 2008. Returning to the UK and quitting golf, Matt found employment in Sales, particularly in Recruitment, and in the last 11 years has progressed to wo...

Lee needs a favour. He has started to write a book. A work in progress with a working title of ‘The Leadership Cheat Code.’ Be Lee’s writing accountability partner and ensure that he creates real actionable content and go to bit.ly/theleadershipcheatcode and sign up for progress updates and keep him on track.  KEY TAKEAWAYS The book will be a practical guide to help leaders of people and change an...

Lee relates his journey and career as an Improvement Coach. An immense learning experience and the best and worst job he’s ever had, Lee explains how he has got to where he is now in the career that has given him the greatest satisfaction. KEY TAKEAWAYS In 2006 Lee was offered a job that included training in workplace organisation, visual management, standards and problem solving and then presenti...

As leaders of people and change, we are always trying to get people to do the right thing at the right time, every time. Rather than repeatedly just telling or ordering them to do so, which requires intervention from you constantly, there are other ways to persuade people to continuously commit to action which Lee explains to you in this episode. KEY TAKEAWAYS If someone is working a process they...