Darcy Wilborn: Problem Solving Like an Entrepreneur

Problem Solving like an Entrepreneur Darcy Wilborn i2E, Inc. dwilborn@i2e.org May 30, 2024

Agenda  Introductions  Defining the Problem  Selecting the Problem  Solving the Problem

Introductions  Who is leading a nonprofit currently (including staff)?  Who is currently serving on a nonprofit Board of Directors?  Who is working for a for-profit organization (consultant, ancillary services, board member, etc)?  Who is a volunteer?

About i2E  501(c)(3) to help innovators & entrepreneurs build, launch, and grow scalable, techbased companies.  Founded when Oklahoma legislature created the

Oklahoma Technology Commercialization Center in late 1990s

 Assist startups by providing guidance, helping them secure funding, and making thoughtful investments.

Four Pillars of Focus: 1. Entrepreneurs 2. Student Entrepreneurs 3. Corporate Innovation 4. Investment Returns through Plains Ventures

About me…  Vice President of Operations at i2E, Inc.  Consulted with 250+ startup companies through 6-week E3 Bootcamp since 2015  Prior job: New Product Development Engineer at L'Oréal Cosmetics  B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and double major in Chemical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis  MBA from The University of Oklahoma Gene Rainbolt Graduate School of Business

What is a “solution-based culture”?

Is a Solution-Based Culture good?

Pros  Sorts out the “doers” from the “complainers”.  Empowers teams to solve and implement their own solutions without permission or guidance from management.  Spurs individuals to seek resources and take action without slowing down decision-making with bureaucracy.

Cons  Teams or individuals only ask questions they can answer.  Important problems are buried or covered with a band-aid  Challenges can be hidden from leaders until they become a three-headed monster that could have been solved earlier.

What do for-profit companies do when problems snowball?

They pay!

What do nonprofit organizations do when problems snowball?

Suffer?

What do entrepreneurs do when they find problems?

Innovate!

Case study: Cost of “solution-based” culture  Most nonprofits are short of funds and people  If a nonprofit brings in a consultant, it needs to be a good use of time and funds.

So how do we keep staff empowered and solution-oriented but help them disclose problems they cannot solve alone?

Compassion and an Open Mind  Approach problem-disclosure not as personal or team-failure, but as an opportunity to get others involved  Decide as a team which problems are worth solving  Make room for mistakes, failure, bad brainstorming  You must decide when there is time & budget for experimentation and failure, and when the status quo must be maintained

Case Study Balancing “problem identification” with discussing problems all-the-dang-time

Steps to collecting problems  Individual, as a team, etc  Quarterly brain dumps on note cards  Weekly or monthly individual check-in

Words of Caution  You don’t want to create a culture of “complainers”, so there needs to be balance  Create a structure upfront and communicate to staff and volunteers:

 What is the medium in your organization to collect problems, challenges, suggestions for change?  How will you review these challenges once a month or once a quarter?  What is the decision tree to decide what problems to solve?

Thanks, Darcy I have 500 identified problems – now what?

Selecting a problem to solve Once a month or quarter, sort your organization’s problems/challenges/opportunities  What is easy, medium, or hard to solve?  What is expensive or inexpensive to solve?  If you are visual learner, make a priority grid

2x2 Priority Grid Easy

Inexpensive

Expensive

1 month

Hard

3 month

6 month

Some solutions are not easy nor obvious  Select one problem per quarter that will take more research or testing to solve  Assign 2-3 staff to manage the “problem solving project” and starting researching and interviewing outside resources who may have insight.  Treat problem solving like a scientist – develop a “best guess” and test it!

I thought this day was about Innovation – where is the AI?

I’m so glad you asked!  Case study: Implementing AI tools in a highly confidential organization

Final thoughts  Entrepreneurs treat existing problems as opportunities to innovate  Problem-solving is a well-known science of testing hypotheses  Bringing organizational issues and challenges to the forefront usually takes a culture shift and leadership with ego strength.  In this post-pandemic, AI world, we should be asking questions even when we do not know the answer. The only path is through.

Thank you!

Darcy Wilborn i2E, Inc. dwilborn@i2e.org