On every problem, an opportunity

There are a many ways someone can react when faced with a problem. One of them is to get it resolved and obtain all economic benefits you can from solving it.

Traveling through the countryside of Brazil a couple of weeks ago, I visited this rural area which was plagued by unlicensed drivers, most of them rural workers who were substituting traditional ways of commuting with inexpensive motorcycles. Interestingly, these days it has became cheaper to buy and maintain a motorcycle, than to feed a horse.

The local policing capacity was overstretched trying to keep roads clear from unlicensed drivers. The small local jail was getting filled with hard working people who were just trying to drive from the farming area to their homes in the city. As you can imagine, this was also becoming an inconvenient problem for the city’s citizens and politicians.

Finding a solution
Then, a smart businessman seeing all this situation unfold before his eyes indentified a unique business opportunity. Tired of hearing complaints from villagers and from seeing so many unlicensed drivers being arrested, he realized this was an untapped market that was not being properly addressed.

Instead of joining the choir of complaints, he decided to act and immediately opened up a driving school for farm workers at an intersection of two major gravel roads that led to the city. He structured his preparation course in such a way that the worker could do all his/her lessons at dusk, when they were heading back home. He priced it in a way that anyone would be able to afford it, financing it in several small installments. Each student would take theoretical lessons and practice his driving skills before the actual public exam, getting ready for it in a relatively short period of time. He created small groups of people who could study together and support each other through the program.

Driving schools were typically in the city. Driving lessons were expensive and scheduled in a way that would be very hard for anyone working on a farm to attend. These schools were also attended by city people – who were quite intimidating for some farm folks. Up to this point of time in that region, no one thought these country folks were potential customers.

Thinking strategically
The businessman knew his target customers very well. His driving school would not only minimize a social problem, but also boost the confidence of many people who were being completely disregarded as customers.

His customers did not read newspapers or watch TV. With a focused approach in mind, he decided to spread the word in gas stations across the city and to do some limited advertising on the local radio in the early hours of the morning, when all his potential customers were preparing to leave their homes.

The result was an overwhelming success. There was not a single farm worker in the entire region that did not know about the new driving school. Each of them was keen to get their license. I had the unique chance to speak to one of these workers and learned that he wanted to comply with the law from day one, but never had a real opportunity to go a driving school. He really valued the product he was purchasing.

Learning to look for opportunities
From a strategic point of view, this is a story of a businessman who hit his market dead on. From a recurring problem, he was able to identify a niche and develop a winning solution. It does not get better than that.

Whenever there is a problem, there is a need. With a need, there is a market. When you see a problem, think about the benefits you can derive from solving it.

Communicate Better to Get Better Results

The story I bring you today is one of those "pearls" from the trenches, told by a friend who works in the consulting business in the African country side. I consider this a classic story that illustrates how good communication can make a significant difference in your results as a manager.

Getting the Job Done – Easily
In the midst of a complex government project in Congo (DRC), a company was hired to provide training to local communities, so the people could understand the impacts and benefits of a new technology being deployed in that region of the globe. The goal was to increase public awareness and get buy in from locals, so they could participate in the process of implementing the project. To do that, instructors had to be in direct contact with the local population to conduct training sessions and provide accurate information about the project.

One of the company’s instructors had an especially high rate of turnout for his meetings. People would travel great distances just to hear his presentation about the new project. In fact, this instructor consistently had the highest rate of attendance of anyone on the entire training team.

The Secret Sauce
When he was asked why he was so successful, the instructor answered, "Well, it is simple. The first time I arrive in a new community, I just ask them for the best way to communicate with that group of people. By doing this, I can figure out how to effectively communicate with them.”

In a particularly challenging case, he was assigned to visit and provide training in a remote village surrounded by jungle. He quickly learned that many people in the community lived in a very sparse area. Teaching in such a remote and sparse location was considered an almost impossible mission. But, he was not intimidated.

When he introduced himself to the community, he asked the local school teacher a few questions and learned that a large part of the population had a low level of literacy and that more people would attend his presentations if he sent a simple and clear message. The teacher also advised him to transmit his message using the government communication center in the capital city. The communication center would then contact the community by radio. He was also told to allow a few days for his message to reach people's homes. So he did…

The day he arrived in the remote community for his first training presentation, the room was completely full. So many people came to his presentation that some had to stand outside and watch through the windows. The instructor quietly asked someone sitting in the front row how she had received his message to attend the training. The lady smiled and explained that a few days ago someone in the village received a radio message and sent it to the local school. The director of the school gave the message to all the teachers, who asked the children to write it in their handbooks and read it out loud to their parents as a homework assignment. As a result, virtually every family in the region received his message and came to his training.

Indeed, he realized that choosing the right communication approach had saved him considerable work and helped him do his job. In that situation, sending a message through e-mail would not have been as effective, would it?

In Essence — Communication
The essence of this story is that communicating well is all about understanding to whom you are communicating. Try communicating differently to different people. Using an appropriate communication style for the person you are communicating with will improve your chance of success.

From a managerial perspective, communicating in different ways can pay off big time:

• Do you know who you are talking to? Really? Before communicating with a customer, coworker, or manager, consider the best communication style to use for them.
• Not getting any results? Try communicating in a different way. For example, if you are not receiving responses to your e-mails, try calling the person on the phone.
• Too many miscommunications within your team? Consider setting aside time for team members to interact and share information. Trust that they can work as a cohesive group and learn from each other.
• Receiving responses too late? Do you specify when you need an answer to your query? Remember that people may put off replying because they do not know when you need their answer. In your communication, be clear about your timeline and let them know if your request is urgent or due by a specific date.

Finally, and most importantly, when in doubt, ask people for the best way to communicate with them. This will save you a lot of time and energy.