1: As the CEO of his company, Brad was tired of all the “upward delegation” he was experiencing.
His team members would line up outside his door to ask for his guidance to help solve their problems.
By the end of the conversation, somehow Brad now owned the issue.
“These problems were sucking his time and energy,” Dan Martell writes in his book Buy Back Your Time: Get Unstuck, Reclaim Your Freedom, and Build Your Empire.
For his business to thrive, Brad wanted and needed to work on high-level problems and opportunities. However, his time was being spent resolving lower-level issues brought to him by his team.
2: “To save his own brainpower for where it was most needed,” Dan writes, “Brad created ‘The 1:3:1 Rule.'” Here’s how it works:
“Before staff were allowed to ask for Brad’s help,” Dan notes, “they had to verbally define a singular, narrow problem (not bring up dozens of tangential issues).”
Next: They had to outline “three realistic paths to overcoming that problem,” he explains.
“Finally,” Dan concludes, “they had to give Brad their single recommendation from the three options.”
1-3-1.
Define the ONE problem that needs to be solved.
Offer THREE viable solutions.
Make ONE suggestion from that list of possible solutions.
3: The other big benefit to “The 1-3-1 Rule”?
“Brad was training his direct reports to think creatively and empowering them to make decisions on their own,” Dan surmises.
“In the simplest way possible,” he notes, “Brad was passing on one of the entrepreneurs’ greatest strengths—their problem-solving abilities.”
More tomorrow!
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Reflection: Am I encouraging my team to bring me problems, or empowering them to bring solutions?
Action: Require that every person who brings me a problem defines the one problem, offers three solutions, and then gives their recommendation.