I have a hard time being satisfied. Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes it can be venomous to moral. I have be be very intentional not to allow this to happen. The truth is, like Jim Collins says, good and great are very closely related yet are enemies of one another.

For years I worked in an industry that was changing so fast we had to always ask questions about not just the market but the connectivity to that market. We had to look for problems before they arrived…seeking them out so we could solve them quickly.

Albert Einstein – once said: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them…
It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

We have a choice every day: to manage problems or seek opportunities. We have been taught to be afraid of problems. We hide them, get embarrassed by them, choose to be intimidated by them, or hope someone else will solve them for us. It makes sense, as leaders are faced with problems every single day. But, what if we changed the way we approached our problems?

A recent survey of employers said that growing organizations are desperate to hire people who seek out problems. Problem sourcing helps us be more creative and more prepared for growth, opportunity, and adjustments. It takes an innovative and creative person to see problems before they arise. When we actively pursue problems, we take the power away from the problem and engage imagination and possibility. Imagining future problems allows us to imagine future solutions. Finding problems opens the door for being our creative best.

Do you fear problems or are you ready to go hunting for them?