Why No One Can Kill Zombie Problems. Even When The Solutions Are Obvious.

Enterprise Tech Why No One Can Kill Zombie Problems. Even When The Solutions Are Obvious. Steve Andriole Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

I help execs optimize digital & educate nextgen technology pros. Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Sep 21, 2022, 07:37pm EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When the time you spend fixing obvious problems exceeds the cost of the problems themselves you live in a dysfunctional world.

But don’t despair. Most companies are dysfunctional. Most companies live with Zombies.

Zombie problems that won’t die. getty I realize that generalizations like these are off-putting. But as you look around your organization, can you honestly say you tackle problems decisively and effectively? Will you admit that the same problems have been hanging around your company for years, but you just don’t have the wherewithal to deal with them? Can you admit that the tougher the problem, the more you avoid it – especially if friends are part of the problem? Can you admit that the whole world of “leadership” is a confused mess (no matter how many books you read or master classes you attend)? All this is par for the course.

But here’s the thing. If you added up all of the meetings, drinks, discussions, phone conversations, texts, task forces, coffees, off-sites, coaching, committees, relationships, dinners and who knows what else you’ve spent on these problems, what you’ve spent vastly exceeds the cost of the problems themselves. Are the problems just too hard to solve? Are they beyond human capacity? Of course not.

We just refuse to see – or do – the obvious. But why? Zombies I know you know you’ve had a million conversations about the same problems with the same people for years. But the problems (and people) are still there.

Some of them are getting worse, almost as though they’re taunting you to actually do something. Are companies simply unable to solve obvious problems with straightforward solutions? How in the world was it possible for Sears, Kodak, Blockbuster, JC Penny and Nokia to miss the trends screaming at their doors? How is it possible for obvious non-performers to keep their jobs when everyone knows they’re non-performers? How is it remotely possible for companies to waffle on their strategic objectives? There are so many questions. MORE FOR YOU The 5 Biggest Technology Trends In 2022 ‘Enthusiastic Entrepreneurs’: Pre-IPO Statements On Profitability Prove To Be Larger Than Real Life The 7 Biggest Artificial Intelligence (AI) Trends In 2022 Problem Clarity Let’s look at three “easy” problems that consume endless amounts of time, energy and resources – but still go unsolved.

Let’s start with sales. Let’s assume quotas are missed – like a lot. How complicated is this problem? Is it intractable? Mysterious? New? Do your competitors – whose sales are climbing – have the same problems? Let’s look at another one: strategy.

Is it impossible to strategize? Does anyone strategize well? Why is there no coherent strategy at your company? Why is there no shared strategic language? Or purpose? Let’s finish with technology. Every company on the planet needs technology to transact whatever they’re selling or servicing. Many companies sell technology itself.

Do companies pay enough attention to the essence of their competitiveness? Do they understand the range of available technologies? Is technology voodoo? Solution Clarity Let’s revisit the three problems: sales, strategy and technology. Are they really that tough? I’ve lived in, and worked with, companies on these and other problems many times. I’m often stunned at how obvious the solutions are but how reluctant companies are to follow the best practices honed after decades of failure (which, after all, is where best practices come from).

Note that the entire consulting industry is based on the unwillingness of companies to solve their own problems – no matter how obvious they might be. What’s the old saying ? “A consultant is someone who borrows your watch to tell you the time, and then keeps the watch. ” If you believe this, why are there so damn many of them running around your company? It’s all about Zombie control.

Let’s start with sales. Root cause analysis is an easy way to find the why sales are poor. Sectors can be assessed.

Rising ones targeted, falling ones jettisoned. Product readiness can be assessed against the competition: good, bad, better, best, worst. Look in the mirror and invest in rising sectors against the weakest competitors with good/better/best products.

Sales cycles across segments can be measured. Sales teams’ and salespersons’ performance can also be measured: remove laggards, reward high performers, recruit and train accordingly. Do machines have enough intelligence to kill sales Zombies? You bet, because the process can be objectively modeled.

So what’s the problem? Let’s be honest with ourselves: nuance, interpretation, empowerment, delay, fear, friends, caution and incompetence – are just a few of the Zombie problem features that prevent solutions from doing their work, which is where the real root cause analysis should focus. We know how to fix sales; we just refuse to do so. It’s because no one wants to lead the charge on the sales Zombie which is why this particular Zombie has more than a million lives.

How about strategy? This one’s even easier than sales. Isn’t it fascinating that there are thousands and thousands of books and articles about “strategy”? Are there so many books because the problems are so difficult? Do we really need all this “new thinking” about strategy about every 10 seconds? Is there all that much “new thinking” about strategy? God, no. It’s because companies refuse to strategize in any committed way.

And why’s that? Because most companies are unclear about who they are, their current and future markets, their actual value proposition and how they increase market share today, tomorrow and in three to five years – or they’re just too afraid to commit to a specific direction. This is why companies don’t strategize – or strategize so poorly. It’s just too risky to declare goals, aspirations, market spaces and competitive differentiators.

Just too risky to place informed bets on how you expect to make money today and tomorrow. It’s not because it’s too hard to do. You’re not betting the ranch, just informing yourself, your employees and stakeholders about promising competitive outcomes.

Technology? Can we just accept that all companies today are technology companies to some extent or another? The failure to accept this obvious reality is mind-boggling. (Please don’t push back on this. You know you’d die without technology.

) So why is technology done so poorly? Because general business-technology principles are flat-out ignored. Some of these principles include the use of business cases, funded innovation, full commitment to cloud computing, microservices, data lakes, SaaS delivery, governance, emerging technology (especially AI and machine learning) and process modeling/mining – none of which are complicated. If you’re still debating cloud, you’re in denial.

If you refuse to see the transformative power of AI and machine learning, you need to sober up. So why are these principles ignored? Why are there still so many spectacular technology project failures? Here we go again: nuance, friends, interpretation, empowerment, delay, caution, fear and incompetence prevent technology solutions from doing their work. Sheriffs & Terminators If nuance, friends, interpretation, empowerment, delay, caution, fear and incompetence prevent solutions from doing their work, how should you deal with them? Consultants! Before the M&A, LBO, hedge fund and PEVC guys arrive, consulting sheriffs and terminators should be hired to do the hard deeds.

This is the real reason why God made consultants – not to tell you what time it is – which is often obvious – but to try to make you do obvious things. Consultants provide arm’s lengths to executives unwilling or unable to make hard decisions. It’s easier to point the finger elsewhere, isn’t it? Consultants reprise this role year after year.

But do they have secret solutions only they know? Are they smarter than everyone at your company? No, of course not. But they’re willing to kill Zombies. The Takeaway Everyone knows that way too many problems are Zombies.

As you look back on your careers, how many people should you have fired long before you did (if you ever did)? How many sales, strategy and technology teams should you have reorganized – or removed – for obvious non-performance? How many problems have you defined too confusingly – or not at all – just to avoid them? Why did you endlessly agonize about so many obvious solutions? How many Zombies have been in your lives? How many are still there? Use consultants the right way. They know things. Here’s what they know about killing Zombies : “Nearly all zombie survivalists are in agreement that the destruction of the brain is the only surefire way to neutralize the zombie (though a few rare types of zombies require complete dismemberment).

” But whose brain are we really talking about here? Check out my website . Steve Andriole Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.