Imagine you’ve been reaching out to your customers, and they’ve been telling you that something has to change. But it’s a dilemma. You don’t want to change too much, or your loyal purchasers may stop purchasing. You don’t want to change so much that your teammates or employees don’t feel like they’re getting what they signed on for. You want evolution, not revolution, right?

Embattled tech company RIM has been facing just this sort of a decision. The company announced today that its co-CEOs were stepping down, to be replaced by insider Thorsten Heins. But so far the market hasn’t responded kindly. The problem may be that the change is simply too small. While RIM’s fall from grace has been dramatic, in fact, nothing short of meteoric, this change appears, to many, to be miniscule. Herein lays the key to knowing how much change is enough. The degree of change needs to be relative in scope to the level of impact that’s required. So if the problem your customers have been encountering is significant, then the change will likely come with a commensurate level of discomfort. If you want revolutionary change, be prepared for a revolution.

Have you heard this one before? “Well, there must be a simple solution”.

Some intrepid inventor usually says that, right before embarking on building said solution. But soon, he realizes there are a couple of small questions to be explored before solving the problem. Perhaps there’s a stakeholder who would like to “tack on” an additional question – or press a personal agenda. Then the inventor’s questions uncover an underlying issue or two. And there are root causes for those issues, as well. Pretty soon, he’s surrounded by ocean, with no land in sight. What can he do? Here are five tips that may help guide you past the rocky shoals.

1. Adapt objectives – in the course of seeking a solution, the inventor may find there is something more pressing that can be resolved, with less effort but greater impact.
2. Abandon perfection – there will never be a perfect answer to every question. Each piece of new information has the potential to throw the project for a loop. Set a reasonable time and scope limit on the investigation phase, and then stop trying to perfect it beyond that point.
3. Assess significance – if feedback or input doesn’t have direct bearing on building the lifeboat, tie it to a mooring for the time being. It can always be addressed as part of the next project.
4. Adopt solutions – while it’s true that the easiest solution isn’t always the right one, any ideas with potential should be considered. A motor might move the lifeboat faster than oars will, but oars may turn out to be more manageable for manoeuvring in tight spaces.
5. Accept success – once a solution has been adopted, be confident that it is the right one for now – refinements are always possible once the lifeboat has been launched.

Helping you keep your head above water,

Megann and Steve