“If I could just go a day without having to solve problems, that would be a good day,” a CEO I advise recently shared.

Having heard him say this before, I responded, “The problems aren’t the issue. How you’re viewing them is the real problem.”

This led to a conversation on Making Shift Happen.

We all have a choice of how we view the world around us. Unfortunately, repetitively thinking the same thoughts creates a belief system that stays with us until we change it.

While it’s hard to think your way into a new way of acting, it’s much easier to act your way into a new way of thinking. Shift, of thinking, happens when we take actions which rewrite the software in our heads.

In this example:

• The CEO decided to call problems opportunities. We created a word for this –problemtunities.
• He required that everyone in the company, including himself, immediately behave enthusiastically and swiftly as issues arise to demonstrate the excellent problem-solving skills of the organization.
• Taking things a step further, he accepted my challenge to use these instances as opportunities to deepen relationships with Extreme Customer Service.

While this CEO is smartly employing the best type of problem resolution, requiring people to anticipate them whenever possible, he now sees issues as the what they really are – problemtunities. All because he made shift happen.