Episode 71 - Kristen Cox - Stop Decorating The Fish

Looking For AND

Problems arise every day, in business, government and non-profit organizations. Unfortunately, leaders often trade 'looking busy' and activity for real progress. Kristen Cox, former Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Management and budget for the state of Utah and recipient of Governing Magazine's "Public Official of the Year" award joins us to talk about a book she co-authored with Yishai Ashlag - "Stop Decorating the Fish - Which solutions to ignore and which problems really matter." Cox and Ashlag use a simple story about a dwindling fish population in the fictional town of Busyville to demonstrate the "Seductive 7" approaches that frequently keep leaders from truly solving big problems. In this episode we dive into the Seductive 7, how framing problems is half the battle, why we should walk away from some problems and how her blindness made helps her think differently.