Let Problems Percolate

A friend of mine was telling me about two training seminars she recently agreed to facilitate. One was with a longtime customer and the other was with a new customer who was able to pay a higher fee. The events were scheduled back to back but she would have enough time to go from one to the other. That is until she received an email.

We read that one of the events had to change its schedule and now the two seminars would overlap slightly, preventing my friend from being at both. She didn't want to drop the longtime client but she also didn't want to turn down a high fee.

"I need to tell them that if they can't change my dates for the event, then I can't do it," she said as she was composing an email.

I told her to stop the email and think about the problem for a little while before she responded. She was about to present a potential employer with a yes/no scenario where there was a good chance she would lose the gig. I encouraged her to let the problem percolate in her mind for a little while before she responded.

A few hours later my friend called me, saying that a third option came to her. If she could have an associate familiar with her program teach her opening session at the second event, she would be able to attend both. This would be another option she could give the event organizers that would allow her program to be presented even if she couldn't be at the event for the whole time.

So often, because we can reply to problems quickly by email or phone, we choose to do so even though it might be best to think a little before we respond. Challenges can produce new solutions if you take the time to think about them.