Resolve to be solution-oriented

by Samantha Strickland, CEO

At the heart of every successful company are solution-oriented leaders. They know when to celebrate success, change direction, or innovate completely new ideas.

But what about those times when the best solution is giving up?

Ooh, wait…that’s a bad topic for a marketing company, right? We’re supposed to always be bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and full of optimism, not talking about failure.

Listen, no one hates giving up more than I do. More than once I’ve literally paid the price for believing I could “pull it out in the end” when in reality a project was doomed before I got started. The fact is one of the biggest reasons we hold on to doomed ideas is PRIDE.

And not the good “I’m a proud Seminole even when our offense can’t score points” kind of pride. I’m talking about the kind that falls more in the “seven deadly sins” camp.

Often this “pride” isn’t intentionally malicious. It comes from a desire to prove your value to the company. In organizations of all sizes, employees can start to feel threatened by other team members or outside perspectives. As a result, they push their ideas forward and ignore potentially better ones in order to keep themselves in the spotlight. It’s hard to admit, but sometimes someone else may be better suited to lead a project and breathe new life into your organization.

As this year comes to an end, resolve to be solution-oriented, even when the solution may be giving up your pride of authorship. Take time to mentor newer team members, appreciate the contributions of all the experts around you, and focus on the best solutions for your company.

In the end, you just might consider “giving up” the best gift you ever received.

Do you have any stories about making the right decision to give something up? We’d love it if you’d comment and tell us about them.