Know What You Don't Know:How Great Leaders Prevent Problems Before They Happen

The most effective approach to a problem isn't to find the right solution.  Instead, the best way to keep your business on track is to prevent problems from happening in the first place.

Leaders in every organization are called upon to use their problem-solving skills to present solutions in times of organizational need.  These problem-solving skills are a valued commodity, and many leaders are praised for their ability to handle disasters.

But what if you could preempt threats to your organization before they became disasters?  How valuable would you be then?

In Know What You Don’t Know, Michael A. Roberto presents the idea that leaders need to be problem-finders rather than problem-solvers.  Roberto argues that leaders need to become hunters who venture out in search of problems that could lead to disasters.  Roberto is Trustee Professor of Management at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island, where he teaches leadership, managerial decision-making, and business strategy.

According to Roberto, good leaders don’t have the luxury of waiting for problems to come to them.  The sooner problems can be identified, the more likely they can be prevented before a major catastrophe unravels.