by Carolyn Leighton-Tal (carolyn@witi.com)
Founder and Chairwoman
WITI
Like many entrepreneurs managing fast-growing companies, I found myself facing new challenges over the last few months, as the fruits of an intense year of building new building blocks for WITI's expansion started taking shape.
I found myself dealing with larger and more complex projects than I had managed in the past. I quickly realized a need to acquire perspectives and input from people who had walked similar paths before.
I spent a few weeks hitting walls - experiencing real frustration that I could not quickly find solutions that made sense, instinctively knowing there were a number of new issues to consider for these exciting new initiatives being formed. In a small company, especially, there is always a strong sense of urgency to make the right decisions. Knowing the cushions (or at least the illusion of a safety net) which exists in a big company, is not there when you are growing a small company.
Given the "webolution" we find ourselves in, I believe safety nets have disappeared for every company given the real urgency to get there first in today's competitive landscape.
I considered, of course, hiring consultants to advise me in these new areas, but had experienced such disappointment when I had done so in the past (high bills, poor advice) that I searched for alternatives to create some breakthrough thinking for myself.
I came up with the idea of scheduling a series of what one of my colleagues and I agreed to call "creative xchange sessions." It worked so well, I wanted to share this technique with each of you!.
Establishing creative xchanges
I made a list of people within my network who met the following criteria:
- Absolute trust - knowing I could discuss any problem without it going beyond the conversation without my permission.
- Experience which could help me make the reach to new thinking, new considerations.
- Smart, good thinkers.
- Demonstrated commitment to my and/or WITI's success.
I started scheduling one hour sessions with the agreement that each of us would split the time equally to help each other think differently about a pressing issue. Two groundrules:
- equal time and
- nothing discussed is repeated without the other's permission.
In advance of each meeting, I determined which of my hundred challenging issues I would discuss. It's best to choose the problem that you find most pressing - you know, the one you are losing sleep over.
It's also important to resist the temptation to spend any of your time reassuring yourself and the other person about how smart you are, or to talk about all the wonderful things you are doing.
Carefully honor the time - if you go first, be disciplined so you do not take one minute from the other person. When you are finished, be there completely for the person sharing the creative xchange.
This process has been so effective, I plan to incorporate this type of meeting on an ongoing basis. Let me know if this breakthrough thinking technique is helpful - please share other techniques you have found effective when you require new solutions to complex problems!
