333: How to Solve Problems Faster, with Greg Hall

Greg Hall: Fix Your System Greg Hall has 20 years experience as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Director of Data Analytics for a Fortune 500 company. He coaches business owners and executives to capture personal data analytics to achieve goals and reduce the stress that comes from sustained productivity. Key Points The more data we can bring to a problem, the better we’re able to see the solution. “A problem well defined is a problem half solved.” Before jumping into a problem you need to invest time to gather information about it. An easy way to start with personal data analytics is to just write down the time and the activity. And when you switch activities, update the record. You can’t create a budget if you don’t know how much you’re spending. It’s the same thing with planning: how can you plan if you don’t where you’re spending your time. First, assess how much work you have. Then, honestly ask yourself how much capacity for work you have. The hard work of fixing a problem is defining it well. You can’t plan out your interruptions, but you can plan for them: you don’t know when they’ll happen, but you do know how often they tend to happen and how long they typically take. Resources Mentioned How to Stop Worrying and Start Living* by Dale Carnegie Related Episodes The 5-Step Strategy for Solving Problems, with Michael “Coop” Cooper (episode 160) How to Solve a Really Big Problem, with Teresa Chahine (episode 292) How to Leverage People Analytics, with Jenny Dearborn (episode 323) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.