I have a phrase that I sometimes use that does not always ring true outside of my own head. I used it again today, and thought to myself, ‘I should write down what this means.’ So, here goes!
Business situations sometimes develop that are like a log jam or a scary spider. Everyone is running around pointing at the problem and screaming –yet, no one is acting. Or, imagine the spider is being tossed between people like a hot potato… When a scary spider is freaking everyone out and no one knows what to do, I sometimes recommend doing the unthinkable. Eat it.
Why not pick it up and throw it outside? Well, that might bother the people that think you should have squashed it. Why not squash it? That might bother the people who think you should have saved it. In business, there are tons of these situations and most of them are just plain stupid. By eating it, you jar everyone into a hushed moment. You break the normal rules and establish a new order. That was odd. Why did that happen? Huh? And, finally, you get to prove your point. The whole situation was stupid… so you dealt with it in a stupid way… but now it’s gone. Removed. Digested. Absorbed.
When a situation develops without a clear solution I like to look for the bug (the one little thing) and do the one little thing that makes it go away… even if it’s disgusting.