In many organizations, it makes sense to leave exploring to managers so that everyone else can focus on getting the job done. This works fine when problems (and opportunities) turn up every now and then. But when many things are changing for some reason (because of growth, customers and/or suppliers change, etc…), things turn up all the time and managers become overwhelmed. If managers are the only ones that explore new solutions, the organization will have to wait and wait for decisions and instructions what to do.

At NCAB, we grow rapidly in a complex market. This means that we have a lot of issues, big and small, in all corners of the organization, so we can’t leave all problem-solving to managers, and we don’t. We have been quite good at handling changes in the past, but we should expect an even higher pace going forward. Therefore, both managers and non-managers have to explore more than we do today. Everyone can paddle.

But isn’t it better to focus on getting the job done, and explore when we have to?

Actually not, and these are three reasons to do it often:
1. To learn more. Exploring is challenging, and those who don’t do it often won’t be good at it.
2. To keep problems small. Problems grow for those who wait, and small changes draw less cost, time and energy.
3. To capture opportunities. Exploring is not just for problems, we also want to notice good things.
So, make exploring a habit! Then your team will always have some testing in the pipeline.

More exploring will give us a huge advantage – the company can move forward at a speed that would be exhausting if managers had to initiate and evaluate all improvements in a top-down manner.

So, don’t leave all problem solving to managers; we’ll get more done if everyone is paddling.

Challenging? Yes, but interesting and rewarding. Imagine how much stuff you will learn; you’ll be impressed by yourself. We’ll all be impressed.