Similar to the idea of “bring me problems” that I shared last year, having a culture where problems are welcomed can be a great thing.
It reminds me of a story I heard about Alan Mulally and his work to turn Ford around in the 2010’s. One big thing that he did was encourage problems to be brought up and not stay hidden, as was common at the time. They had a small issue arise in one of the newer Explorer SUVs, and rather than risk a future recall, they delayed the vehicle by a few weeks and got the problem solved. In the past, Ford would have hidden it and hoped for the best to avoid the delay, but under Mulally they worked to bring problems to light and resolve them.
With this culture throughout the company, the quality of all of their vehicles improved.
In “The Hard Thing About Hard Things“, author Ben Horowitz shares a similar thought:
“Build a culture that rewards—not punishes—people for getting problems into the open where they can be solved.”
It’s easier said than done, because people are often afraid to bring their problems up in front of others for fear of looking weak or foolish. It can feel safer to keep them hidden and try to solve them on their own.
However, if you can develop a culture of bringing problems to the front, the long-term benefits will far outweigh the short-term awkwardness of the situation.
