Are You Solving the Right Problem

CareerCast - Life-long Career Development

Author Kristen CoxThere are so many problems these days that emerge on a near daily basis. Yet it is impossible to solve them all.  So how do you decide which are the right problems to solve at any moment in time?  Kristen Cox, former Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) for the State of Utah, university instructor and fellow at David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah and co-author of Stop Decorating the Fish and The World of Decorating the Fish, has strong opinions on this. She would say that most people throw “more” on the problem – from more strategy and data to more money and technology – and this doesn’t work. In this CareerCast, Kristen shares her insights, perspective, and actions based on her vast and deep experience on how to identify the right problems to solve and how to do it.

Aired January 15, 2021

Kristen Cox is the world’s leading authority on how to apply the Theory of Constraints to government and nonprofits.  She is the former executive director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) for the State of Utah where she created and then used Utah’s SUCCESS Framework to orchestrate a 35 percent improvement across the entire, $20B executive branch.  Prior to that, she was the Executive Director of Utah’s Department of Workforce Services (DWS) where she led her agency through the 2008/2009 recession by meeting a 65 percent increase in demand for services, with her existing staff, while becoming one of the highest quality agencies of its kind in the country, and giving back $30M to Utah’s General Fund. 

Prior to that, Kristen was the Lt. Governor candidate with Maryland’s Governor Bob Ehrich, while serving as the executive director of Maryland’s Department of Disabilities (the first agency of its kind in the country).  Prior to that, she was a special appointee in the Bush Administration. 

Kris co-authored two books, Stop Decorating the Fish, and The World of Decorating the Fish with Dr. Yishai Ashlag.  She is a university instructor and fellow at David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah.  She is a keynote speaker, advisory board member, consultant, trainer, and co-founder of The Fulcrum—her online, private, training community.

To learn more, visit the book's official site at https://www.stopdecoratingthefish.com.

Stop Decorating the Fish book cover

For more insights and a short video, visit the book's official site.

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