I absolutely LOVE Jeff Ward’s Resolution Solution because it combines two of my favorite problem-solving activities: writing on whiteboards and thinking in the shower. I am am unrepentant whiteboard addict ever since my days as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group earlier in my career (where Jeremy Kugel and I met, by the way). We don’t have a perfect place to hang a large whiteboard in my current office, so I’ve compensated by using those poster-size / flip-chart papers with the sticky note feature that I stick up all over the office. I drive my poor colleagues crazy with this- I’ve practically wallpapered the entire place. And then I’ve done the “thinking in the shower thing” for as long as I can remember. I know it’s cliche- doesn’t everyone do this?
What’s interesting (or at least I find it interesting!) is that I don’t have many Eureka moments when thinking in the shower. For me, those tend to come when I’m jogging or raking leaves or just zoning out completely doing something not at all work related. That’s when ideas just hit me. With the shower, for whatever reason, I’ve always liked to be actively thinking about a problem, working on it, turning over ideas, playing what-if scenarios. This is very similar to how I like to think in front of a whiteboard. Hence, I adore Jeff’s idea:
“Keep dry erase markers in your shower and bathroom to keep your resolutions current and always visible. The markers are also a terrific way to write down that brainstormed idea that we all seem to get when we’re in the shower!”
- Jeffrey Ward, Northward Leadership and Development, Inc., www.northwardleadership.com
A relatively simple (but still powerful) Let’s Dish! idea was a “Shower Idea” for me. We were struggling with how to make life easier for our Splitters. Splitters are folks who prefer to divide their meals into two of 2-3 servings each rather than make the full portion of 4-6 servings. They are very important to us, and their experience can be a bit confusing because they need to cut measurements, use different packaging, etc. We had for some time been offering alternate preparation instructions and cooking labels for them, but it was still not working well. Despite printing “splitter” on all the documents and utilizing little “checkbox” designations, folks were still taking the wrong labels or following the wrong prep instructions. I was determined to find a new way.
I tried a technique that I like in which I just close my eyes and methodically picture a situation, looking for some kind of learning. As I visualized a typical Splitter customer going through a session, I pictured our Baltimore store (I often do that- Baltimore / Timonium was our first store and it was the one in which my partners and I pulled 6 straight months of all-nighters back before we knew the business would make it). Anyway, we had just repainted that store and so when I was visualizing it, I “saw” the fresh, bright paint on the walls- yellow, blue, orange and green. Voila! We’d use color! Full meals would retain our traditional orange label. Sides and desserts would use blue. And split meals (and their in-store recipes) would always be designated by using green.
It’s been a great improvement for us and for our customers and it was so obvious– it was just sitting there all along. Imagine how much faster it would have come to me with those markers in my shower….
4 Comments
I always get my best ideas in the middle of the night. I must dream them. But, I was finding it hard to fall back to sleep once I had something on my mind. I found if I sleep with a pad of paper and a pen on my bedside table I can jot down my thoughts and ideas right then and there. I can write enough of my idea in the dark, while laying down to remember the it in the morning. This works for me to get the thought off my mind and then I can relax (not worry about forgeting the it) and fall back to sleep. Try it sometime, your thought just maybe to remember to pick up the dry cleaning, or it maybe your next great business strategy for work. If it’s on paper - it’s off your mind!
Hey Janet, it’s funny you mention the paper and pen next to your bed idea! Before the first Mid-Atlantic Let’s Dish! opened the ideas were flowing from our brains at a constant rate and at all times of the day. I was having trouble sleeping because my brain was in over-drive. At that time, my co-partner Lisa, who has also been my great friend since our freshman year of college, told me that she keept a pad and a pen next to her bed for the reason you described. This is a great tip and it works! Thanks for reminding me.
Today was my first dish session. I’m a splitter (glad to hear you like us!) and the green coding was perfect! One minor issue that you could brainstorm in the shower on: my recipe called for rice, and there was wild rice at the counter (for a different recipe). I didn’t realize I should be looking on the cart BESIDE the counter for “my” rice til another disher told her hubby to use the brown rice. The blue apron folks were very nice and had me just toss what I’d done and start the rice bag over, but I felt bad about wasting the food!
Thanks BB Tomb – you’ve pointed out something important. We haven’t always worked out all the kinks of splitting, so thanks for commenting. We try to make our in-store dishing instructions as specific as possible but it’s a challenge as recipes often have overlapping, but different ingredients (eg, wild rice vs brown). Plus, we try to balance putting all the information in the instructions against letting them get too long. We’re open to ideas, so feel free to share. And, thank for giving us the feedback – comments here or through the customer satisfaction survey that comes in your Thank You emails are REALLY helpful to us!