How to spot


organization's problems?

Little nightly thoughts
by Business Exploration

Dear Fellow Innovator,

You reached Flavio's blog on CRAZYDATA.

I asked ChatGPT to tell me what are the signs of an organization having "problems"...

Most of you know me for being someone that is parachuted into "problems" and has the ability and persistence to come up with a linear solution, often quite unconventional, but effective.

But how do you spot a "problem" in an organization?

The hard metrics


But how do you spot a "problem" in an organization?

when classic "hard metrics" like:

  • Decreased Productivity,
  • Quality issues,
  • Rising costs,
  • Safety incidents,
  • Employee turnover,
  • Supply chain distruptions,
  • Customer complaints,
  • Unforecasted breakdowns,
  • Declined financial performances,
  • Loss of competitiveness

are not much revealing?

Often these hard indicators may be "gamed",
unvolutarely or voluntarely,
or just become the new norm, before the disaster.

The soft indicators


Then, we can look at more soft indictors:

  • Communication brakdown,
  • Employees' disengagement,
  • Resistance to change,
  • Increased internal conflicts,
  • Absenteeism,
  • Low trust,
  • Poor external reputation,
  • Difficult hiring for talents,

Even if also these can be influenced
and even dismissed as the cry of a single person
or of the whining of younger generations...

My preferred alarm trigger:


ChatGPT listed all of the above "problem" indicators,
and could most probably add more.

But if I have to tell you which is the single most clear indicator
of an organization's problem, I would not go for them.

I would look for the place and time where a lot of people
is thrown by the management at

"making the s... done, no matter the cost".

Where and when people is asked to make extra hours or work weekends to get the things done: by the end of month, by the end of quarter, by the end of year.

And this is repeated month after month, quarter after quarter, year after year, whitout that anybody goes fix that process once for ever.

There could be political issues, data issues, design issues, people issues, technological issues and all of them, linked together in a way that nobody in the loop can trigger the solution.

Need help?


If you spot a bunch of people throw at making the job done, no matter what...

you may need someone to parachute in the middle.

In case, just give me a call: +39 02 8719 8498

( I can also bring a few friends, if needed...)

Cordialmente,

Flavio