Anyone who knows me personally, knows how much I love to cook.  My personal Instagram is filled with posts of my latest attempt to become a world-renowned chef on the side. I may have to table that dream.  This next post and guest contributor are near and dear to my heart!  I had the privilege of working with Kurt Johnson at FiServe, formerly First Data, designing and developing an integrated Salesforce CRM platform. Since then we have looked for every opportunity to work with one another.  On the topic of managing roadblocks and executive level decision-making, I can attest to his ability to apply thoughtful leadership with enthusiasm.  So grab a snack, and enjoy this food for thought.  

It happens to us all. Things are going along great when . . . WHAM something or someone throws off your best laid plans. Sometimes you see it coming and sometimes you do not, but either way you know that it is up to you and your team to go over, around, or through that new roadblock. I have found in my 35+ years in Information Systems that many roadblocks can be avoided by using a simple recipe:

1. Take a pound of stock and marinate – many roadblocks can look one way when you first encounter them, and given a few minutes or hours of consideration they can take on another form. Know what you are needing to address.

2. Generate solutions from your rich pantry of ingredients – too often folks do not spend enough time brainstorming all the ways to overcome a roadblock. Get as many cooks into this kitchen as possible. Reach out to other cooks, your old chefs and mentors if needed. Chances are this is not the first time in this kitchen for some.  

3. Picture yourself beyond the roadblock – Imagine you are taking your creation off the stove or out of the oven. It is fully cooked or baked and ready for the perfect presentation. Think about what you did to get here. Sometimes visualizing a scrumptious success is a key to unlocking the secret ingredient.

4. Get Ready and Go (or Bake)! – You have thought about your problem, you have taken stock in yourself and your team, you have visualized success and implemented your Roadblock Busting Recipe! Remember you have the project momentum that has built to this point. You know this team can cook and they are ready to do this!

Now that the roadblock is behind you take a moment to learn about what just happened and how you and the team overcame this roadblock. Chances are you will be needing this recipe again in the future!

Here are some other practice tips for the cook…

For roadblocks that are of a human variety – allow them to tell you all the reasons why they disagree upfront and then present your counter to those objections at the big meeting instead of hearing them there for the first time.

For roadblocks of a budgetary nature – keep the goal of the project in mind and reassess if a small overage to the budget is worth scrapping the entire effort and forfeiting the goal.

For roadblocks that are technical – computers and networks do exactly as they’re told. Look into the mirror: the roadblock or its solution can likely be found there.

Bon Appétit

Kurt Johnson has worked in the Credit Card Industry and Financial Services for First Data and Citi since 1987. As a Vice-President of Process Engineering in Global Fraud Prevention at Citi he champions positive change to improve operations and reduce fraud. In his free time, he enjoys making music and spending time with his wife MaryBeth.