Distribution
Puzzle logic
Success is a matter of seeing the big picture.
By Dustin S. Klein
Smart Business Akron/Canton | February 2007
My 3-year-old son, Sam, and I did a lot of picture puzzles over the holiday break.
Sam’s pretty darn good for a 3-year-old, solving 100-piece puzzles without much, if any, help from his old man. At first, I thought he
was just memorizing where all the pieces went. But the more puzzles we did, the more I noticed him looking at the finished picture
on the box for a moment before beginning, then gazing at all the pieces spread out.
After that, he simply built the big picture he saw by analyzing all the smaller pieces and determining how they fit together in the correct way.
In business, it’s no different.
To build a successful company, you must first understand and recognize the big picture, then be able to answer the question, “What
is it you’re trying to create?”
That big picture is made up of getting the right smaller pieces in the correct places — the rollout of a new product or service, sales
growth of an existing line, driving efficiency and cost savings through a segment of operations, developing new leaders, making a
smart hire. Together, they add up to something greater.
When you focus on the big picture, you have a finalized goal in mind that you can aim for and, if done correctly, smaller milestones
along the way that you can check off as you achieve.
This month’s cover story on Bill Considine discusses how, as CEO, he is taking the jewel of the Akron Children’s Hospital to new
heights by recognizing and understanding how all the smaller pieces fit together into a larger puzzle.
In Considine’s world, the larger puzzle is one that forms a picture of service above all else. Everything he does is focused on achieving that goal — even though in order to get there, he must give attention to the different aspects of a highly diverse organization.
Like Sam, Considine doesn’t look at 36 different pieces and become overwhelmed by the sheer quantity, odd shapes or incomplete
pictures that stare back at him. Instead, he focuses on creating one larger picture out of the many smaller ones.
And in the end, his ability to do so is the power behind the success of Akron Children’s Hospital.
Contact Editor Dustin Klein at dsklein@sbnonline.com
