The 5 Cs Circle is a tool that can help guide problem solving or brainstorming sessions, so that you thoroughly think through options and arrive at a decision. It can be used as a tool to guide a conversation between two collaborators, or it can also be used alone. Either way, you can use the Mentoring Meeting Tool below to take notes as you think through a challenge and weigh your options.

What are the 5 Cs?

Challenge: 

Entrepreneur explains to their mentor that they are having staffing problems and that staff are demotivated. To get things started, the mentor may ask, “What is your biggest immediate challenge?” 

Choices: 

The mentor helps the entrepreneur  think through the available options to overcome the challenge. The mentor may ask, “What are your choices (options)?”   

Examples Include:

• I can fire them

• I can ask them to submit a staff satisfaction survey

• I can increase their salary by 5%

• I can ask each one to come and speak to me

Consequences: 

The mentor may ask the entrepreneur, “What are the advantages and the disadvantages of the choices you have outlined?” The volunteer can then help the entrepreneur explore each option in more detail.

Creative Solutions: 

Once the best choice has been determined, the mentor can work with the entrepreneur to come up with  creative solutions. This is a mutual and collaborative process. The mentor can help by sharing any knowledge or relevant experiences with the entrepreneur to arrive at a practical solution.  Wherever possible, the mentor should encourage the young entrepreneur to develop his/her own solution to the challenge. If the mentor has ‘ideas,’ this is the time to share those ideas, but the mentor must balance telling and asking. If in doubt, the best approach is always to ask questions, which allows for entrepreneurial agency and encourages the entrepreneur to become more confident in making decisions.

Conclusion: 

Bring the session to a conclusion by asking the entrepreneur to sum up the key points of the meeting and to describe what will happen next. The entrepreneur should be encouraged to act upon the agreed solution. The role of the mentor is to support and challenge the entrepreneur to carry out the actions they have agreed upon, and the young entrepreneur should feel empowered to willingly take these actions forward.