(Photo from Public Domain Pictures)
Not every problem can be solved. Not every limitation can be gotten past.
Space people hate to acknowledge this. I’ve noticed that in business, often the initial response to a problem is a litany of reasons it can’t be solved. Among space people, the predominant response is to look for solutions. Relentlessly, obsessively, creatively, revolted by the notion that it might be impossible to solve. It’s why my record includes a number of successful projects in supposedly impossible situations. That drive is in my bones.
But reality can be a harsh master. Once in a while there truly is no solution to the problem, no way to expand the limits.
That’s where some businesses, some households and some people are.
It’s always true, but right now more of it is happening in the developed world than in a very long time.
Martin Lewis, the UK’s expert on ways for regular people to save money, says he is out of ways to help Britons cope with the extraordinary surge in the cost of living. For an increasing proportion of the UK, getting by now means not turning on the heat or lights or oven or stove (hob in British English), not taking a shower, not running the fridge overnight, not eating more than once a day, or fasting so the children can eat. It means some food bank users are turning away donated potatoes because they cannot afford to cook anything.
Make no mistake, although Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s dramatic announcements yesterday are much needed, they are a Band-Aid® (sticking plaster in British English). They were rushed out to displace devastating headlines triggered by release of Sue Gray’s report about how the heart of government ignored pandemic rules they set out and everyone else lived by. Sunak’s announcements are not solutions to systemic issues that underlie the crunch around the globe or additional systemic issues specific to the UK.
For British businesses, the energy price crunch is even worse than for households. There is some constraint on price increases for household energy. There is no constraint on energy prices for businesses. It isn’t unusual to hear of businesses having to pay three or four or more times as much for energy as they did a year ago.
I have to admit in the past year or so, I’ve run into a couple of businesses where I couldn’t find a way to avert collapse. I loathe having to say a no-go situation is permanent, not merely a delay. But in these times, in some cases that’s the reality.
If you’re up against the wall and can’t see a way forward, you may be able to find a decent path by enlisting help. This goes for both businesses and people.
At Outward Bound, most of the others in my brigade said they attended to find their limits. By the time we finished the course, the most important thing we had learned was that although we have limits, our limits are almost never where we think they are. We found out where they are by continuing to press on until we really couldn’t go further. Along with that, we also learned that with each other, we could do far far more than we could on our own. When you get help, it can help you do enough more to get through a crunch.
So if you can get help to look for a way forward, go ahead. It’s the reasonable thing to do. It could be your salvation. There is no reason to go under on your own when getting help could have kept you afloat.
Just don’t accept help from anyone who says all problems have a solution. Nobody can honestly say that. You need help from someone who is willing to grapple with reality.
I promise you this. If your help comes from me, I will be forthright about whether or not I believe we can get you past your trouble. Chances are that we can. My track record is good. But if I can’t see a way to do it, I’ll say so and help you cope with whatever is falling apart.
That would be a terrible marketing pitch, so it’s a good thing you aren’t here for one.
Thank you for listening to me make what sense I can of this nutty world we’re living in.