Excellerate Associates

Excellerate Associates, the go-to business mentors for entrepreneurial and leadership development

  • Home
  • Members
  • Blog
  • Meeting Planners
    • Keynote Speaker
    • Speaker Topics
  • Media
    • About
    • Articles, Quotes and Tips
    • Images Gallery
    • Media Coverage
    • News and Story Ideas
    • Questions to Ask Lisa
  • Contact
  • Cart
  • Social Media Link Excellerate Associates
  • Social Media Link Excellerate Associates
  • Social Media Link Excellerate Associates
  • Social Media Link Excellerate Associates

Get Your Free eBook:
Elevate and Expand Your Brand

Free eBook
WBE_Seal SB_ALUMNI
  • Start Here
    • Schedule Your Discovery Session
    • Me Myself and Why
    • Meet Lisa Mininni
    • Success Stories
  • Events & Training
    • Events
    • Attend an Introduction to Scaling & Systematizing Your Business Workshop
    • Best Seller Profit System Workshop – Become a Best Selling Author
    • Create Your Signature Program
    • Self-Study Programs
    • Speaker Lab: Elevate Your Presentation Skills
    • Wake Up Profitable Boot Camp for Business Owners
    • Wired to Win 101: How Are You Hardwired?
    • Wired to Win! Your Path to Passion, Purpose, and Profit Workshop
  • Coaching/Mentoring
    • Schedule Your Discovery Session
    • View our Mentoring Programs
    • Profitability Lab: Introduction
    • Premier Coaching – Schedule Your Discovery Session
  • Excelleration App
  • Collaborate
    • Affiliate Program
    • Charity of Choice
    • Profitability Lab Leader Licensee
  • Business Innovation Lab

The Broke/Fix Model: What It Is and How It Blocks New Possibilities

September 25, 2025 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment

When coaching or consulting with organizations, one recurring pattern we see is what I call the “broke/fix model.” Under this model, we implicitly or explicitly assume something is broken, and the job is to fix it. On the surface, this seems reasonable: find what’s not working, diagnose it, repair or eliminate it. But over time, this mindset becomes a lens that limits what we see, what we imagine, and what we build. It frames problems as the central reality rather than possibility; deficits rather than strengths; what’s missing rather than what’s present and generative.

In this post I’ll unpack the Broke/Fix Model, show how it limits innovation and engagement, and present frameworks that suggest more generative ways of seeing and acting into possibility.

What the Broke/Fix Model Looks Like

Here are typical symptoms of a company culture when the Broke/Fix Model is predominant:

• Emphasis on problems, gaps, faults, errors as starting point (“What’s wrong?”).
• Diagnoses and root-cause analyses dominate early stages.
• Fix = remove/repair what is broken; often the aim is return to “normal” or “baseline.”
• Success is measured by a reduction of negative indicators (errors, complaints, failures).
• Less attention to what is already working, what strengths or successes exist, or what could be built upon.

This is not inherently bad—sometimes broken things do need to be fixed. But when this perspective is the default, it tends to blind us to possibilities, sap morale, reinforce deficit narratives, limit creativity, and can even perpetuate the very problems we’re trying to solve.

How It Limits Possibility

1. Fixation on what’s wrong diminishes what’s right

When we always look for what’s failing, we overlook the existing strengths and capacities that can be leveraged. This can lead to solutions that are reactive, patchwork, or shallow, rather than generative or transformative.

2. Negative framing reduces psychological safety, engagement, creativity

Constant focus on deficits tends to put people on the defensive, increase blame, reduce a sense of ownership or hope. People may feel that nothing they do is ever good enough.

3. Narrow vision for what “good” or “better” looks like

If “better” simply means “less bad,” then innovation tends to stop at incremental improvements. New possibilities—different futures—are harder to imagine.

4. Reinforcement of status quo power structures

Often, those defining what is “broken” are in authority; solutions are imposed from “above.” This dynamic both limits participation and can ignore systemic causes or unseen strengths in less powerful parts of the system.

5. Risk of burnout and demoralization

Focusing on fixing failures or gaps can be exhausting. Successes may be taken for granted; failures loom large.

Moving Toward a More Generative Model

I’m not arguing that we should never notice breakdowns or fix problems. Rather: we should expand our default frame so that possibility, strengths, assets, and generative potential are in view alongside what needs to be improved.

Below are some shifts and practices that help shift into a more generative culture:

From:  What’s wrong?

To: What’s working / what’s possible?

Practice Changes:

Start meetings by asking for stories of success, peak experiences, or what people do well. Use those as building blocks.

From: Fixing deficits

To: Amplifying strengths

Practice Changes:

When designing interventions, ask “how can we do more of what already works?” not just “how to fix what isn’t.”

From: Reactive

To: Generative / anticipatory

Practice Changes:

Build visioning, dreaming, protyping these into processes—identifying what could be, not just what mustn’t be.

Implications for Leaders and Change Agents

• Be aware of the lens you bring: when diagnosing issues, notice if the language, questions, mindset are defaulting to broken/fix.
• Create space (agenda, process, time) for discovery of success and strengths.
• Use tools like Appreciative Inquiry or look at what successful outliers are doing to balance or shift perspectives.
• Measure not just what you eliminate (errors, problems), but what you grow (capacity, innovation, wellbeing).
• Watch for unintended consequences: e.g., by focusing too much on fixing, you may inadvertently suppress experimentation, stifle morale, or ignore hidden potential.

Conclusion

The broke/fix model has its place—but when it dominates our thoughts and actions, it narrows possibility, mutes strengths, burns out energy, and keeps us stuck in what’s already known rather than what’s possible. By incorporating strength‐based frames, co‐inquiry, co-creating, dreaming and visioning, we can transform not just what we fix, but how we imagine, build, and live into fresh new futures.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: broke/fix model, Excellerate Associates, leadership training, mindset

How Your Beliefs Get In Your Way

April 20, 2023 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment

Beliefs are a state of mind in which you regard a thing to be true. It makes sense that if you regard a thing to be true, you’re likely to take action consistent with that belief.

Some beliefs support us to open and grow, while others keep us stuck in mediocrity. At times, you may wonder why you hit a wall in an area of life or business. You may question why you’re not achieving the results you seek even though you’re taking action. This can be a frustrating place to be.

Even the most seasoned business professionals can have a belief they don’t realize is holding them back or no longer serves them. They just know something is off.

The key is to become aware of what your beliefs are serving. Many beliefs are learned and are usually designed to protect us, keep us right, look good, or avoid pain.

A good example of how beliefs can hold you back is illustrated through one of my client case studies. One of my clients had a belief that she could not differentiate herself from any other real estate brokers. She tried many different marketing avenues that didn’t do anything to distinguish her business from all others that provide similar services.

Since she believed that she couldn’t distinguish her real estate services from any others, she was resigned from doing anything differently. To challenge her belief, I asked her what made her different from other real estate brokers. As she began listing what she provided (that was distinct from all others), I suggested she had not only a signature process unique to her business but offered services beyond her other colleagues in the industry for which she could charge, creating another revenue stream for her company.

Simply testing a belief led to new branding and revenue streams for her business. She had a breakthrough in her resignation igniting a fresh new way to stand out. I invite you to consider the beliefs you have that, if reframed, could open up new opportunities for yourself, your business, and your life.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: belief systems, entrepreneurial mindset, Excellerate Associates, growth mindset, mindset

On The Fence?

March 4, 2021 by Lisa Mininni Leave a Comment


The late great Jim Rohn once said:

“It doesn’t matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes. What matters most is getting off. You cannot make progress without making decisions.”

Throughout each day you make thousands of decisions. Many decisions are made instinctively and others learned through habits.

Yet, sometimes you get stuck on the fence:

• Keep my job or start a business
• Market my business or hold back until I get _____ in place
• Write a book or wait until a better time
• Complete a relationship or stay in an unhappy one
• Invest in that workshop or wait and see

Sitting on the fence is painful. It saps energy and not just yours. Others feel it. You’re not the full expression of yourself.

This in-between place is fraught with anxiety and frustration. You may be trying to accomplish some thing in your life, but when you’re undecided in any place, it feels like you’re swimming upstream in mud.

It feels this way because you’re splitting your mental energy. You think about starting a business and are looking for a new job. You get excited because you get an interview which then redirects your energy some place other than your business. When you don’t land the job, you figure you’ll refocus your efforts on starting your business then wonder why you’re not getting clients.

Indecision in any part of your life creates a domino effect making any decision a monumental task. Hesitating will also lead to mental anguish and even frustration. Lift the frustration by making a decision and go with it.

How do I know all of this? I’ve been there.

Mental clutter will keep you stuck in a rut. If you’re stuck in the rut, you are likely stuck in a decision. The best way to get relief is to get off the fence, create a plan, and go with it.

Invitation

If you are undecided on whether to join us for the Create Your Signature Program on March 18-19, 2021, now would be the time to get off of the fence and register.

Registration closes on Friday, March 5, 2021.

This workshop is for you if you:

  • Want to distinguish your company from all others who offer similar products/services.
  • Want to shorten the sales cycle and increase the lifetime value for each client.
  • Have difficulty succinctly describing the value the client receives when working with you and your company.

In two days through our proprietary framework, we will mentor you through how to design your Signature Program so that it:

  • Is easily understood by your ideal clients
  • Establishes you as the go-to resource
  • Distinguishes your company from any others that do similar work
  • Builds your platform in alignment with the mark you want to make in the world
  • Expands your revenue streams

Learn more and register on or before Friday, March 5, 2021.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: business mentoring, Excellerate Associates, mindset, on the fence

Members Login

Click to login

Download(s)

Your Download(s)
My Account
View Cart
Logout

Wake Up Profitable Live Event

The Wake Up Profitable Intensive Boot Camp for Business Owners draws in successful entrepreneurs committed to attaining stronger marketing systems, skills and profitability that has resulted in:

  • Increased productivity by over 40%
  • Improved sales 90% in 30 days
  • Freedom to enjoy life by aligning and systematizing their business
Scale Your Business Now!

Profitability Lab Introduction

In this live session you will:

  • Explore what’s possible for you with a brand new approach to profitability
  • Instantly find more money and time in your business
  • Discover how to shift from “busy” to profitable
Register Now!

Goals in Gear

Webinar: Get Your Goals in Gear

GET YOUR GOALS IN GEARGet Your Goals in Gear is a 65-minute webinar that will help you set your goals — and bring them into reality. Take your business to new levels with an actionable plan of specific measurables, strategies, milestones and actions.

Learn More

Me, Myself, and Why?

Me, Myself and Why? Best Selling BookBOOK: Me, Myself, and Why? The Secrets to Navigating Change

The Most Valuable Book You Will Ever Read: Discover how one foundational tool can give you the courage to take you where you want to go in life.

Learn More
  • Business Mentoring to Scale Your Business
  • Interview with Lisa Mininni
  • Media Center
  • Events
  • Blog
  • Success Stories
  • Free Resources
  • Best Selling Book
  • Contact
  • Members Only
  • Affiliates
  • Social Media Link Excellerate Associates
  • Social Media Link Excellerate Associates
  • Social Media Link Excellerate Associates
  • Social Media Link Excellerate Associates
  • Home

© Copyright 2025 Excellerate Associates ·| Powered by Essential IT | Privacy Policy