Voice

【Topic 1: Problem Solving.  Subtopic 1.2: Voice】

WHAT is problem-solving?

I pick a few videos referred by Stephen Covey’s book “The 8th Habit” (2004) that I deem educational to understand business problem-solving.

Many years ago, I volunteer to teach Taiwanese junior high students “Handling Problems” out of a series of “Champions” courses.  In one of the lessons I demonstrate to students the importance of priority, by first pouring a bag of little green beans to a jar, then trying to stuff six cooked eggs to the jar.  The sixth egg cannot fit into the jar, but if I reverse the order with eggs first and beans second, they can all fit.  Stephen Covey also refers reader to view a similar video “Big Rock” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyL93MlR_I0) in his book. Importance of priority is also taught in Covey’s other best sellers (such as “Highly effective people” and “First things first”).  This is one of the habits a successful individual needs to know.

However, the book has an even bigger theme: the individual must discover and advocate one’s own voice. A voice can be a vision, a solution of a problem, conceptualized in a painstaking way, like another video “Discovery of a character” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4pLikkfM1s) where an English writer discovers an idea he wants to announce to everyone after he encounters “writer’s block”.

Covey also encourages the individual to inspire others to have their own voice.  In order to do that an individual builds trust by touching the heart of others, like Anne Sullivan, teacher of deaf, blind, and mighty Helen Keller, as shown in a video “Teacher” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C36jAJnPIs).

The difficult problem is to resolve conflicts when merging different voices into one.  A video “Street Hawkers” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVCJxVRaMtc) shows how a manager of a newly-opened South African retail store comes out a synergistic plan with the surrounding old vendors who almost block the store entrance on the day of business opening.  She discusses with street vendors of their needs and her needs.  Eventually the vendors become her security force guarding against thieves’ pilferage of store inventory.  This trust bonding benefits both parties not only now but in the future.

The most difficult problem to solve is to develop a voice of culture moral authority, because culture change takes time, and a leader needs great courage and readiness of sacrifice.  The video of famous “Gandbi” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKOnqaGyelc) shows how Gandbi is able to develop his culture authority when meeting with millions of angry Indian people.