The 1-3-1 Rule: How Great CEOs Stop Solving Everyone Else’s Problems
“If you really want to grow as an entrepreneur, you’ve got to learn to delegate.”
– Richard Branson, British entrepreneur
Here is another one of our most popular blogs from the archives, mildly refreshed and updated.
Branson’s advice isn’t just for startup founders. It applies to every mid-market CEO and business owner who has gradually become a help desk.
Here’s the thing about problem-solving: it feels like leadership. It’s busy, it’s useful, and people thank you for it. It’s also one of the most expensive habits in your business, because every problem you solve for someone else is a diversion from a decision you should be making about where your company is going.
The fix is simple, and it takes about ten seconds to explain.
The 1-3-1 Rule
Whenever someone brings you a problem, ask for three possible solutions and one recommendation. That’s one problem, three solutions, one recommendation.
Your team does the thinking: the options, the trade-offs, the risks. You do the deciding. If that sounds like what a leadership team is supposed to do, it is.
“But will it actually work?”
Yes. It also works better than ever now. Your people can draft options in minutes with an AI assistant, so “I didn’t have time to think about it” has lost some of its charm. Using AI as a brainstorming partner is fine. Walking in with its first answer unexamined is not. The recommendation has to be theirs, and they have to be able to defend it.
What you’ll gain
Hidden talent shows up. Some people have been waiting for the invitation. Your next generation of leaders may be one good problem away from introducing themselves.
Better solutions. You’ll hear ideas you’d never have come up with, because you’re not standing where they are.
Time back. As confidence grows, the small fires stop landing on your desk. People discover they were perfectly capable of handling them. They’ll also learn what truly deserves your time. Wouldn’t that be nice?
A shift in how you’re seen. You stop being the person with all the answers and become the person who makes the important decisions. The second job is the one you were hired to do.
What the first month feels like
It won’t all be smooth, and it’s better to know that right up front.
Some people will wobble. Not everyone has been asked to think this way before. Keep going. Confidence comes from reps, and you can’t do their reps for them.
You may be a little less “needed.” You were the hero who swooped in. That may take your ego some time to adjust to. However, now you’re the leader who asks a better question. It’s a quieter role, and a far more valuable one.
You’ll worry you’re out of the loop. You’re not, except for all the minor, noisy stuff. The big issues will still reach you, and now they’ll arrive with options attached.
The stubborn few
A few people will keep showing up with weak ideas, or none. The temptation is to just fix it yourself, since it’s faster. Don’t. Send them back, and then back again if necessary, to build a better set of options, and coach them on what “good” looks like. Muscles take time to form, including problem solving muscles.
If the pattern still hasn’t taken hold after real, repeated coaching, that’s useful information about fit, and you’d rather learn it sooner than later.
The bottom line
Give it a month. You’ll wonder why you didn’t start sooner, and you’ll have the time to think about that properly.
Try it this week: the next time someone says “Got a minute? We have a problem,” reply with “Great. What are your three options, and which one do you recommend?” Then let the silence do its work.
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