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THE OPPORTUNITY

Reframing Your Professional Problems

I remember calling my office one day while I was traveling. At the time, we had seven or eight account representatives and I recall speaking with all of them on the telephone. After the niceties were out of the way, they all started with the exact same four words: “I have a problem.”

“Jeff, I have a problem with an order.”

“Jeff, I am having a problem with a client.”

“I have a problem with the receptionist”

“I have a problem with the computer.”

“I have a problem with the toilet.”

I got very sick of the word ‘problem”. Think about it. If you have a problem, you automatically have an obstacle to get over. So, in all of my wisdom, I went to our regular Monday morning meeting the following week and challenged everyone to come up with another word to replace the word “problem.”

They did it. They decided on the word “Situation”. That week when I called in, I heard things like,

“Jeff, I have a situation with the receptionist”

“Jeff, I have a situation with the toilet.”

I felt more like the commander of a naval ship than the owner of my own business. Back to the drawing board.

The following week they came up with a word that has literally changed the way we do business. The word? Challenge!

I know you know the word, but why is it that we won’t use it? I have a theory. I think human beings love to have problems. I am not trying to be facetious. I think we rely on it as a great excuse. You see, if the problem is big enough, the obstacle is big enough. And, if the obstacle is big enough, the excuse is justified. I’ve heard it again and again.

“Sorry boss. Too big an obstacle. I tried but I just couldn’t get it done.”

Instead, why not change it to the word “challenge”? From every problem comes an obstacle. From every challenge comes an opportunity. So, if we can discover the challenges we face—personally or professionally—we can discover the opportunity it presents to us.