Be nice to your problems because they’re your most valuable assets!
Audrey Clegg left her native USA for a two-year placement with Wolseley, over 25 years ago. She’s based in Europe ever since, working for ABB, Coca-Cola HBC and now Sanofi.
“Some problems we can solve,” she says, “And some we can’t. But if we can learn something from them either way, we come out on top. That’s why I persuaded all the companies I’ve worked for to join CEMS. It’s a great place to find new ways of turning problems into opportunities.”
One of IBM founder Tom Watson’s employees made an error costing the firm $600,000. As the employee entered the boss’s office, he said: “I suppose you want my resignation.” Watson looked up and said, “Are you kidding? We just spent more than half a million dollars on your education.” Not many of us would be bold enough to reply that way. Past experience might have dulled our appetite for risk. Or we might be naturally pessimistic. - Audrey shares this as an example
Two inspirational learnings from Audrey:
1. Reframe your assets
Today, the world is moving faster than ever. Even the pace of change is accelerating. Learning how to reframe problems – and learning to unlearn – is vital. Let’s look at an example. The image above in the article, titled ‘Earthrise’ was taken from the spacecraft Apollo 8 back in 1968. This photo reframed Planet Earth: a drop of blue and green floating in black space.
In recent years, climate scientists have found that our oceans probably play a more important role in regulating our climate than the atmosphere: one third of CO2 generated by humans is swallowed up the sea. And yet our understanding of ocean circulation is poor.
To encourage further study and shift perception, one journalist suggested that as 71% of our planet is covered in water, we should change its name from ‘Planet Earth’ to ‘Planet Water’.
2. Power up your problems!
Perhaps the most valuable lesson I’ve learned from all the corporate partners and students and academics I’ve worked with at CEMS over the years is this: whether you are glass-half-full or glass-half-empty, use your insights and perspectives to reframe whatever problems come your way. Whichever you go, though, make sure you find people to work with who see the world differently to you. Whether they ‘annoy you with their weird ideas’ or ‘challenge you with a different perspective’ is your choice!
I’m lucky enough to be born glass half-full, so I naturally tend to look at problems as opportunities – gifts even. They might be covered in the nastiest gift-wrap you can imagine, but get inside and you’ll find a wealth of insight and opportunity. says Audrey
Audrey has been an inspirational professional in the CEMS community and our immense thanks go out to her for contributions and strategic thinking!