1/ observe and discover. rebels have a sharp and trained eye for bureaucracy and process friction and spot it from miles away. they step up and address the problem, even if it is not their direct responsibility or they know they can expect some fierce opposition.

2/ find the root cause. most of the time, we jump too quickly to conclusions and ‘fix’ the problem until we realise the problem is still there and do the same all over again. rebels take time to dig deep and figure out what is causing the problem. they keep asking questions and won’t stop until they have found it (this is probably one of the reasons why people find rebels annoying )

3/ define the problem. once the root cause is found, they define the problem clearly and crispy, so it gives focus and everyone will be on the same page.  

4/ agree on the edges. also, they agree on the boundaries of the solution space with the responsible manager or VP. doing this upfront means you don’t need a steering committee (so, this is a super crucial step, because we all know what happens when a steering committee is getting involved )

5/ get creative. to get to the best creative thinking, the rebel involves others so there is a diverse bunch of people together to come up with the best possible solutions, and formulates the problem statement  as a ‘how might we’- question:

• how implies there is a solution
• might makes it safe to suggest ideas that may or may not work
• we means that we are in this together

6/ go do it. rather than overthinking the solution, rebels go and do it. with trial and error, they’ll quickly find out what looks good on paper but needs to be tweaked in reality. btw, even if things go beyond their responsibility, they will still take ownership and go for it.

7/ keep an eye on it. because rebels are passionately committed, they will keep an eye on how things are going, even when it’s not their responsibility (anymore). they want to know whether the solutions are still working and whether the improvements are on track. if they see things derail, they’ll step in to give a hand and solve it before things get out of hand.

8/ never be satisfied. rebels don’t wait for the shit to hit the fan. they always have an eye for friction in processes and procedures, and they are never happy with the status quo. while others think “it works, let’s keep it!”, rebels view the world differently: “it works, but how can we do it better?”.

the mindfuck is that people believe that this approach to problem-solving is too time-consuming, while in reality, it will save you time. because fixing stuff at the root or before it becomes catastrophic means you won’t have to firefight. and there’s the rub because some people just love the rush that comes with firefighting …

download this rebel tool right here, right now!