16. Practice Blameless Problem-Solving.

Apply your creativity and enthusiasm to developing solutions, rather than pointing fingers and dwelling on problems. Identify lessons learned and use those teachable/ learnable moments to improve our processes so we don’t make the same error again. Get smarter with every mistake. Learn from every experience.

Marc's Message:

This fundamental, when done incorrectly, is not just a business problem, it’s a cultural problem throughout society.  How does this change and get solved?  I would venture to say, one person at a time.  We have the opportunity to control our own actions and behavior.  Remember the quote I highlighted on the conference call in March In the word, “Responsibility”, it means, “you have the ability” to choose your response.

I thought long and hard about whom at Famous best exemplifies practicing blameless problem solving.  I could come up with a long list as we have so many associates at Famous that are positive and implement creative solutions to get things done.

However, as I think back over my entire career, a person I believe who would rise to the top and is right up there with the best of the best, year after year, is Vicki Feola.

Vicki is the type of person who is extremely smart, resourceful, and thoughtful.  She chooses her words carefully, realizing that once they leave one’s lips, they can never get them back.  I never hear Vicki complain.  She’s all about identifying issues and initiating creative solutions.  She works diligently with her marketing team to put together focused plans.  She prioritizes her responsibilities, and once given a task, she doesn’t make excuses.  She makes sure things are done not only on time, but with professional, high quality standards.

I’m also very proud to say that Vicki learns from trial and error, and puts proven and sound processes in place to make sure we can leverage our resources and take advantage of scaling big projects.  For Vicki, it’s all about problem solving.  She is cool under pressure, and this mindset allows her to improve every aspect of our business that she and her team touch.

The #1 reason, in my humble opinion, that Vicki is a true success in this important fundamental, is that she will not allow herself to go rogue (negative).  She stays above the line.  We can all learn from her skill sets and help us become an even stronger team in this critical area, as we practice blameless problem solving.