I was recently talking to some leaders and they explained how they continued to get some undesired results. We talked about the process they were using. They were insistent that the process they were using was the right process - even though they kept getting the same undesired results. It reminded me a bit of a story I heard about a person who walked out of their front door every day only to find that they had stepped in the same hole as the day before. Each time they got out of the hole and walked around. The next day they stepped into the hole again an repeated the cycle. They were certain they knew how to walk and could not understand why they kept repeating stepping into the hole. It seems obvious that walking was not the problem, but the hole needed to be filled!
Sometimes we can be blind to what seems to be obvious. Sometimes we can work around things, and never truly fix the problem. Sometimes the problem may be us or something we are doing, especially when the problem repeats itself with the same main character and varied supporting actors.
When a problem continues to present itself, try to take a fresh look at the situation. Look at all the similarities of each occurrence and the variances. Then take action to make a change. Don't forget to look at your role in the repetition, as the problem that needs fixing may just be you.
