The First Step to Solving Problems is to Stop Routing Them in the Most Obvious Direction
When a business problem hits the table, most leadership teams instinctively do the same thing: they route it to the department that seems like the closest fit. It’s efficient, and it feels decisive. But it also means the problem is viewed through a single perspective, and the connections between functions that could solve it are never explored.
- Cash flow is down? That’s Finance.
- Can’t find good people? HR.
- Processes are breaking as we scale? Operations.
The problem gets a label, the label gets a lane, and the conversation moves on. Everyone feels productive. But the BIG problem—the real, interconnected, enterprise-level one—may still be sitting in the middle of the table, untouched.
That’s exactly why we created What’s Your BIG Problem?™ (WYBP).
WYBP™ is a strategic card game featuring 48 business issues across six categories: Revenue, Growth, Brand, Competition, Performance, and Alignment, designed for leadership team facilitation.
“My Challenges Look Different”
Recently, a colleague explored the WYBP™ deck. From his operations seat, the biggest challenges center on hiring, leadership development, SOPs, training, productivity, and cash flow. He didn’t see some of these exact phrases represented in the deck, which opened up a great dialogue.
Those challenges are real, urgent, and tangible. They show up in daily decisions and measurable outcomes. But they’re also symptoms—the visible manifestations of broader strategic issues.
In other words, what appears operational on the surface often connects to strategy beneath the surface. That’s where perspective matters.
WYBP™ was built from our vantage point as fractional CMOs, and 48 cards can’t capture every challenge across every function. That said, the facilitation game was designed to operate at a different altitude. “Building a leadership team” can cut across all six WYBP categories. “Increasing cash flow” spans revenue and performance. “Creating SOPs” is about scaling with clarity and alignment.
The distinction matters. When you name the symptom, you assign it to a department. When you name the underlying strategic issue, you open the conversation to everyone who can contribute to the solution.
WYBP™ helps leadership teams examine business challenges from a strategic marketing lens. It’s a perspective that many organizations do not consistently have at the executive table. They may have strong marketing implementers, but few companies have a Chief Marketing Officer guiding strategy.
Where Strategic Marketing Meets the Rest of the Business
Below, we take a closer look at five challenges that are often assigned to a single department and how a broader perspective can lead to a better solution.
1. Building a Leadership Team
The default owner: HR / Recruiting
Building a leadership team requires internal communications and messaging that clarify your vision, values, and direction, along with external recruitment marketing that brings those elements to life.
Your careers page, Google reviews, and Glassdoor presence aren’t simply HR deliverables. They’re brand assets.
The right leaders don’t just want a job. They want alignment with where your company is headed. If your employer brand doesn’t clearly communicate that story, you risk losing the candidates you need most before they ever apply.
2. Creating SOPs and Playbooks
The default owner: Operations
We’ve developed many SOPs, not just between sales and marketing, but across client experience workflows that touch every department.
When your customer journey spans five teams, and no one owns the handoff, that’s more than an operations gap. It’s a strategic one.
Process discipline is how you keep things from falling through the cracks as you scale. Building the playbook to support that discipline often requires cross-functional clarity, not just operational oversight.
3. Improving Productivity
The default owner: Operations / IT
In our role as fractional CMOs, we evaluate marketing and sales teams, including their people, processes, and tools for project management, digital asset management, data, and more.
Most of the time, the issue isn’t the tools. It’s people's behaviors and a lack of focus and direction.
Adding accountability and measurable outcomes creates productivity. Many of our clients use EOS and the “GWC” framework, and our process dovetails nicely because leadership is about aligning effort with results, not simply adding activity.
4. Training Employees
The default owner: HR / L&D
Training videos, LMS modules, and onboarding playbooks are tools we have been involved in creating and refining.
Consistency around process, access, and brand voice and messaging is what turns employees into ambassadors.
If your team can’t articulate your value proposition the same way twice, that’s not just a training issue. It’s a messaging issue with training implications.
5. Increasing Cash Flow
The default owner: Finance / Sales
Cash flow isn’t just a finance metric. It’s a strategic outcome.
We evaluate SKUs and product or service lines to identify winners and underperformers. We build predictable pipelines by positioning the winners strategically relative to the competition. We design lead-nurturing and revenue-focused initiatives that reduce friction, shorten sales cycles, and improve win and close rates.
When you stop spending money on what doesn’t drive revenue and double down on what does, cash flow follows.
The Problem with “Marketing Problems”
Too often, marketing is viewed as responsible only for tactical execution, like website functionality, SEO, and social media.
It’s a common perception, and it’s costing companies money by prioritizing tactics over results.
Strategic marketing touches revenue, growth, performance, brand, competition, and alignment. Those aren’t marketing categories. They’re business categories. And they’re the six pillars of WYBP™ for a reason.
One of our goals in creating this tool was education and awareness—not to claim ownership of every issue, but to open the conversation by first identifying the problem. When you lead with the issue rather than the department, disciplines that seemed siloed begin to reveal how deeply connected they are.
That shift in perspective is often the first real step toward solving the BIG problem.
Start with the Problem, Not the Org Chart.
Leaders who get the most out of WYBP™ aren’t the ones who see their department’s problems in the deck. They’re the ones who see their company’s problems and recognize that the solution was never going to come from one lane.
Whether you’re a CEO building your legacy, a CFO focused on EBITDA and cash flow, a COO trying to systematize operations across expanding markets, or a CHRO rethinking how you attract top talent, the answer starts with a better question: What’s your BIG problem?
We Can Help You Unpack It.
WYBP™ is built for leadership teams, facilitators, and business advisors, regardless of which side of the org chart you sit on.
Use it in a strategic planning session, a boardroom discussion, or a one-on-one conversation with your team to start the discussion that matters most. Try it and let us know how it goes.
About Incite Creative, Inc.: Incite Creative is a marketing advisory firm that provides fractional CMO services. In short, we become your company’s chief marketing officer and do so virtually and efficiently — saving you time and money. Since 1999, we’ve built and boosted brands across a core set of industries. Our thoughtful process, experienced team, and vested interest in our clients’ success have positioned us as one of the Mid-Atlantic’s most sought-after marketing partners for those looking to grow their brand awareness and bottom line. Stop paying for digital and traditional services you may not need. Our retainer, no-markup model means our recommendations don’t come with any catch or commission. Our guidance aligns with your needs and fits within your budget. For more information, contact us at 410-366-9479 or [email protected].