Solving Business Problems

Stop Wasting Time in Endless Meetings That Go Nowhere

Are you tired of those never-ending brainstorming sessions that leave you with more questions than answers?

Do you find yourself stuck in recurring problems that never seem to get fully resolved?

You're not alone. The average executive spends 37% of their time in meetings, and most walk away feeling like nothing meaningful was accomplished.

The Hidden Cost of Staying Stuck

Every day you delay making critical decisions about your business challenges is costing you:

• Lost revenue from opportunities that slip away
• Team frustration from endless discussions without action
• Competitive disadvantage while competitors move ahead decisively
• Decreased morale as problems compound and grow worse

Here's the uncomfortable truth: The real risk isn't making the wrong decision—it's staying stuck too long.

There's a Better Way: The Decision Sprint

What if you could cut through the noise and solve complex business problems in under 3 hours instead of weeks of unproductive meetings?

How the Decision Sprint Transforms Problem-Solving

The Decision Sprint is a revolutionary 6-step approach that gets you from problem to action plan in one focused session:

That's exactly what happened when an e-commerce company facing declining sales discovered the Decision Sprint method. Instead of endless strategy sessions, they got clarity and action—fast.

1. Assemble the Right Team

Solving complex business problems requires synthesising varied expertise and perspectives. The process begins by forming a small, cross-functional team of 4–6 people from different roles, levels, and backgrounds within the organisation. No more room full of people who shouldn't be there.

A Decider with authority over the challenge is also appointed. As an engaged participant, the Decider makes final decisions, fostering ownership and accountability.

Finally, a skilled Facilitator guides the team discussions, ensuring a structured, productive environment focused on the problem. Their neutral perspective prevents groupthink while maximising participants’ contributions.

The e-commerce business assembled a team made up of 4 members. The team included members from marketing, sales, customer service, and operations. The CEO acted as the Decider, and an external Facilitator was appointed.

2. Set a Clear Long-term Goal

Solving business problems effectively requires aligning short-term actions with long-term organisational objectives. The team begins by establishing a clear and ambitious long-term goal. This correlates directly with the challenge at hand and aligns with the organisation’s objectives. This goal, typically spanning one to two years, serves as the North Star. It guides the decision-making process towards solving the business problem. By grounding problem solving in an ambitious but achievable long-term objective, the team prevents getting trapped in tactical, short-sighted actions. The goal ensures strategic continuity, promoting sustainable solutions that solve immediate challenges while advancing the company’s future competitiveness.

The e-commerce business set a goal “to increase annual online sales revenue by 20% within the next two years.” Providing a clear direction for initiatives aimed at reversing declining sales trends.

3. Identify the ONE Critical Problem

Here's where most businesses go wrong—they try to solve everything at once. The Decision Sprint forces you to identify the single most important problem holding you back. With the long-term goal providing strategic context, the team delves into analysing the current situation. They begin by identifying all the problems that stand in the way of achieving the long-term goal. Through a process of prioritisation, the team then narrows down on the critical problem contributing to the challenge. By thoroughly analysing then distilling the complexities into a concise problem statement, the team eliminates potential distractions. This critical problem definition shapes the team’s focus for ideation and solution-finding in the subsequent steps.

The e-commerce team tackled several issues: price competition, an outdated catalog, a laggy website, and impersonal marketing. They pinpointed the lack of personalized customer engagement as the biggest hurdle. Data analysis and customer feedback revealed generic marketing efforts that failed to connect with individual preferences. Addressing this was crucial to improving customer loyalty, increasing conversion rates, and ultimately reversing the downward sales trend.

The team defined the critical problem as follows:

“Our e-commerce platform fails to deliver personalised experiences that build customer loyalty and drive conversions. This lack of personalisation is evident in our generic marketing efforts, which don’t resonate with individual customer needs and preferences.”

4. Generate Solutions That Actually Work

With the critical problem clearly framed, the team engages in a creative brainstorming session to generate potential solutions. To spur innovative thinking, the Facilitator guides the group in reframing the issue as an open-ended opportunity statement. This positive phrasing switches the team’s mindset from a narrow problem perspective to an open-minded exploration of possibilities. Building off one another’s ideas, the diverse group is able to co-create a wide range of solution concepts, from unique to tried-and-true. Subsequently, they narrow down and select a set of solutions that they believe can effectively address the critical problem. Including individuals from different departments and levels within the business leads to a diversity of ideas and insights. This results in a wider range of solutions better suited to the problem at hand.

The e-commerce team reframed the critical problem into a challenge:

“How might we create a more engaging and personalised e-commerce experience that fosters customer loyalty and increases conversion rates?”

Using this as a basis for their brainstorm, the team was able to generate a host of possible solutions.

5. Evaluate Objectively

With numerous potential solutions generated, the next step is evaluating which ideas have the highest potential impact and feasibility for addressing the critical problem. To promote objectivity, the team scorecard evaluates each solution against specific criteria. This helps to identify the most impactful and feasible ideas in an objective manner. Through this structured evaluation process, the team builds consensus around the most promising 2–3 solutions that comprehensively solve the critical problem in a viable manner. This rational prioritisation ensures resources are allocated to the highest-value initiatives.

After evaluating potential solutions, the e-commerce team decided to prioritise two initiatives. There was consensus that these had the greatest potential for improving customer engagement and driving sales growth.

• Implementing a customer segmentation strategy:

This would allow them to tailor messaging and product recommendations to specific customer needs and interests.

• Launching a targeted email marketing campaign:

This would leverage the segmentation data to deliver personalised emails that resonate with each customer group, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates.

6. Create Your Action Plan

The team creates a detailed prioritised action plan for implementing the chosen solutions to solve the business problem. The action plan includes identifying specific tasks, assigning responsibilities, setting key results and establishing deadlines. By outlining the necessary actions and assigning accountability, the team ensures a smooth execution of the chosen solutions.

By the end of the workshop, the team will have a specific, actionable, and manageable plan. This will enable swift and decisive action to be taken in solving the business problem.

Our e-commerce team developed a detailed action plan for implementing the chosen solutions. Tasks included analysing customer data to identify segments, designing personalised email templates, integrating email marketing software with the e-commerce platform, and monitoring campaign performance metrics. The action plan outlined responsibilities, specific timelines, resource allocations, and key results to track progress towards achieving the long-term goal.

Six months after implementing the new customer engagement initiatives, the e-commerce business saw an increase of just over 15% in sales, putting them firmly on track to achieve their long-term goal.

But the real transformation wasn't just in the numbers. It was in how quickly they moved from problem to solution.

What Makes This Different from Your Typical Meeting?

• Speed: Solutions in hours, not weeks
• Structure: Every step has a clear purpose
• Objectivity: Decisions based on criteria, not politics
• Action: You leave with a concrete plan, not more questions
• Results: Measurable outcomes you can track

Don't Let Another Week Go By

Right now, while you're reading this, your competitors are making decisions and taking action.

How much longer can you afford to stay stuck in endless meetings that go nowhere?

The Decision Sprint works for any business challenge:

• Declining sales or revenue
• Team alignment issues
• Operational inefficiencies
• Product development delays
• Strategic planning paralysis

Ready to Stop Talking and Start Solving?

We recently helped another client use this exact method to tackle low employee engagement—and the results were transformational.

But here's what we know: Reading about it isn't the same as experiencing it.

If your business is grappling with a significant challenge that's been dragging on too long, don't let it hold you back any longer.

Schedule a free 30-minute consultation and discover how a Decision Sprint can propel your business forward.

With our fully remote services, we can assist you anywhere in the world. Let's work together to unlock solutions tailored to your unique needs and goals—in under 3 hours, not 3 months.

The question isn't whether you can afford to try the Decision Sprint. The question is: Can you afford not to?