“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we’ve used to create them.” – Albert Einstein.
 Adjust and Adapt . . . we must get good at change. A solution that worked yesterday may not be the best solution for a similar problem today. As we encounter events – as we solve problems – we are committed to our relentless pursuit of excellence.

 One of our greatest gifts is the ability to learn. We are constantly gathering information, reflecting on the implication of our own actions, and pursuing opportunities for growth. This is what we do. We are learners.

We must collaborate, explore new possibilities, and purposefully pause to look through problems from different angles, through different lenses. Our training, and the training of our fellow educators, prepared us for the world of today. We’ve been trained to deal with “our problems” using the same thinking that created them. We need to step up and create new solutions – collaborative solutions born from the Power of our Team and our Passion for Growth.

So today, when you feel your default-driven decision making process push you towards an auto-pilot response, take just a moment to pause and consider other options. Engage a peer, take a moment for reflective self-talk, and consider other solutions.

“If I had 60 minutes to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes defining it, and 5 minutes solving it.” – Albert Einstein

We have taken a pledge to eliminate BCD – we will not Blame, Complain, and Defend – in our professional and personal lives.  In our unchanging core we know that no problem has ever been solved, no situation has ever improved, by placing blame, by simply complaining, or by defending our default-driven position.

We know that in order to solve problems, we must first identify and define them.  We face a myriad of problems and challenges in our work each and every day.  We experience events constantly; we believe that how we respond influences the outcome.

We have the Power of the Team a core value; we believe it, we live it, we model it.  It is not BCD to identify a problem and engage our team in solutions.  It is not BCD to ask for help – it is one of our core behaviors.  Too often we encounter an event, we face a challenge, and we simply don’t respond.  Lack of action in and out itself is an action – it is ignoring the problem.

As we identify problems . . . we experience events . . . take the time to press pause and define what is required of you.  Take the time to enlist the Power of the Team – ask for help if you need help.  Talk through problems; seek those who can help you get your mind right and step up to create solutions.

We must fight our default-driven response to ignore a problem and help it solve itself.  We must be discipline-driven in our response.  We must press pause and define what is required of us.  We live our values through our behavior; we must, as leaders, model this in our own 20 square feet.