CEO Brandon Frere: Strategic Problem Solving

Business Meeting

Each day, CEOs encounter steady streams of bigger and smaller problems to solve. They all have one thing in common: These problems require solutions. Whether a CEO is working on a major marketing campaign that will set their business on a new course or is working out a mundane payroll problem, each challenge requires the most efficient, elegant solution out there. The stakes are high because the accumulation of all these decisions will determine the success of the organization. Strategic problem solving requires intense collaboration and the input of diverse opinions. For Brandon Frere, CEO of Frere Enterprises and other ventures, successful problem solving is the beating heart of every successful organization. 

“Business environments are shifting at high speed,” said Frere. “Problem solving requires flexibility and resolve. You have to be willing to hear input and then be able to make a committed decision.”

Business environments are shifting at high speed. Problem solving requires flexibility and resolve. You have to be willing to hear input and then be able to make a committed decision.

Brandon Frere, CEO of Frere Enterprises

Though there are geniuses in business and the arts who work on their own, most people require support in areas they are not as strong in. They also need strong outside opinions. Collaborating with others doesn’t necessarily mean agreeing with the boss. Robust perspectives and passionate debate are key to coming up with innovative solutions. CEOs require this input in order to give themselves their maximum opportunity to come up with the best available solutions.

A cognitively diverse team requires an open leader who is willing and supportive of independent thinkers. CEOs can build their teams systematically, being sure to recruit individuals who are particularly analytic or creative. Foreign-born team members, or those who have spent significant time abroad, can be especially creative, coming up with ideas beyond normal cultural boundaries. Recent research by KellogInsight confirms that thinking outside the box is enhanced by experiences outside boundaries. 

Collaborating with a cognitively diverse team can be especially important in a rapidly evolving economy. A strategic commitment to disrupt established business practices can only be sustainably achieved with a wide range of thoughts. Taking the beaten path to a solution may be initially expedient, but a CEO who promotes diverse thought will more often find the right path forward.

“There is no substitute for having a great team of people you can trust and who trust you,” said Frere. “Building a team of competent, passionate voices allows me to turn collaboration into an essential business practice.”

About Brandon Frere

Brandon Frere is an entrepreneur and businessman who lives in Sonoma County, California. He has designed and created multiple companies to meet the ever-demanding needs of businesses and consumers alike. His website, www.BrandonFrere.com, is used as a means of communicating many of the lessons, fundamentals and information that he has learned throughout his extensive business and personal endeavors, most recently in advocating on behalf of student loan borrowers nationwide.

As experienced during his own student loan repayment, Mr. Frere found out how difficult it can be to work with federally contracted student loan servicers and the repayment programs designed to help borrowers. Through those efforts, he gained an insider’s look into the repayment process and the motivations behind the inflating student loan debt bubble. His knowledge of the often confusing landscape of student loan repayment became a vital theme in his future endeavors, and he now uses those experiences to help guide others through the daunting process of applying for available federal repayment and loan forgiveness programs.

BrandonFrere.com

Source: Brandon Frere

Related Media