Blog | Run to the Problem: Why Waiting is the Real Failure

By: Marc Sanderson

 

In most companies, problems don’t announce themselves—they accumulate. Quietly at first, then all at once. By the time they reach the executive team, they’re no longer operational hiccups; they’re strategic risks.

 

The difference between high-performing leaders and the rest isn’t the absence of problems. It’s how quickly — and how directly — they move toward them.

 

At INNERGY, we use a simple phrase: run to the problem. It’s not a slogan; it’s a system of behavior. It is so important to our success that we named it as one of our core values — an expectation to be lived out by all members of our team.

 

It’s a value that I learned early in my construction career. As an architectural woodworker, by definition, we showed up last on site. Thus, we inherited all sorts of problems that we need to solve —with no extra time to do it. We had to anticipate issues, move fast and consider how to solve problems that may arise so we could make it right.

 

Why run?

Walking won’t cut it. With problems, speed is the difference between control and consequence:

 

• Every problem has a clock on it.
  Early on, it’s small. Contained. Fixable with relatively little disruption. Wait too long, and it spreads—across teams, into customers, into your brand.
• Problems don’t fix themselves.
  They compound. There’s a quiet belief in many organizations that if we just keep moving, things will sort themselves out. They don’t. When we run to the problem early, we’re not just fixing an issue—we’re preventing a pattern.
• It builds trust—faster than success does.
  What people remember is how you show up during challenges. Do you engage early? Do you take ownership? Do you communicate honestly, even without all the answers? Trust isn’t built by avoiding problems. It’s built by how you confront them.
• It forces clarity.
  Waiting for clarity may feel responsible. But more often than not, it’s just delay in disguise. Clarity rarely comes before action.

How to Run

It’s easy to say run to the problem, but harder in practice. Here’s what we find are the keys to success:

 

STEP 1: Own it Before Overanalyzing.
It means you own it before it’s obvious and move before you’re ready. You will be stepping off into ambiguity, discomfort and often issues that aren’t entirely your fault. The moment something feels off, act. Call the customer before you have all the answers. Address the issue before it’s fully diagnosed. Waiting, hoping or working around it never works.

 

I think often about the Tylenol crisis. Johnson & Johnson didn’t wait for certainty—they recalled 31 million bottles to protect customers. They chose trust over perfection and it defined their brand for decades. I’ve seen the opposite too — when we delay engaging because we don’t feel “ready,” the problem only grows.

 

I don’t hesitate. I’ll change my schedule and travel far if needed to own the issue and start the conversation. The first conversation is rarely perfect and sometimes painful — but it builds trust and gains grace while you fix it.

 

STEP 2: Push Past Symptoms to the Source

What shows up first rarely is the problem — it’s evidence of one. We see an outcome, not the cause — a customer complaint, a spike in tickets, a missed commitment. The instinct is to react to what’s visible. The discipline is to pause and ask: what’s actually driving this? What’s the root issue we need to solve?

 

We saw it in our support function — aging tickets, slow responses, frustrated customers. The quick answer was to push the team to move faster. When we stepped back, we realized we couldn’t even see the process clearly. We didn’t know where tickets were getting stuck or have the right metrics to track it.

 

You can’t fix what you can’t define. Getting to the root cause takes curiosity, time and the right data — not more data. Because if you can’t measure it, you can’t align on it. And if you’re not aligned, you’re guessing. The ultimate outcome of this step is a clear, strong problem definition.

 

STEP 3: Start Before the Plan is Perfect

Analytical by nature, I want to develop a complete roadmap to address the issue. But I know, complexity can kill progress. The key is identifying the next best step, create urgency and let clarity build as we go.

 

Years ago, when an internal survey showed a dip in satisfaction among our development team, we moved immediately:

 

• Tuesday: I saw the survey results in Minnesota.
• Thursday: I asked for follow-up feedback to better understand what went wrong.
• Friday: We all were in a room in Poland aligning on the issue and next steps.

We didn’t have the full solution. But we had momentum.

 

In another case, I watched an INNERGY leader literally get on a plane to meet with a customer and the team. No long pre-read. No extended planning cycle. Just a decision to engage directly and not leave until there was clarity. That kind of urgency changes everything!

 

Short-term wins follow. Alignment follows. Energy follows.

 

STEP 4: Follow Through Relentlessly
Progress doesn’t have to be perfect—but it does have to be visible. Follow-through is what turns intent into trust. It’s how your team knows you mean what you say, and how customers decide whether to stay when things go wrong.

 

That starts with communication. Early, often and throughout—not just when it’s solved. Pair that with doing what you said you would do. Commitments matter and when plans change, you close the loop instead of going quiet.

It also requires staying close to the work. Audit as you go. Adjust in real time. Because in the end, people don’t remember the plan—they remember your words and deeds matched, and that builds trust.

 

Problems are opportunities and each time provide lessons that make you, your team and your organization better. At INNERGY, we name the big problems (Trainwreck Tuesday, Dev Disaster, Ticket Turbulence, Fatigue Friday). It reminds us that problems are solvable. The process works. Problems are not to be feared. They make us better and achieve RAVING FANS.

 

When Everyone Runs
As CEO, I don’t need to be the one running to every problem. But I do need to build a culture where someone always is. That means:

• Staying close to the voice of the customer
• Being clear on what “good” looks like
• Empowering the right people to step in—even if it’s outside their formal role

 

As we grow, the problems don’t go away. They get bigger. Faster. Less forgiving. So, we have to get better. Better at seeing early. Better at diagnosing clearly. Better at acting decisively. It takes discipline.

 

If there’s one thing I’d pass on to another leader, it’s this:

 

Don’t wait for clarity. Run to the problem—and let clarity catch up.

 

Marc Sanderson is the CEO of INNERGY and former President/Owner of Wilkie Sanderson. He began in the millwork industry 20 years ago with a small cabinet shop and built it into one of the most profitable operations in the country. A Harvard MBA and 2024 Wood Industry Market Leader, Marc is known for transforming complexity into clarity through data-driven strategy and culture first leadership. Equal parts analytical operator and motivator, he’s just as comfortable refining strategy as he is rallying a room around a shared vision.