What Prevents People From Solving Problems?

My job is to help as many people as possible, solve as many problems a possible, as quickly as possible.

That should keep me busy for the rest of my life, don't you think.

But you can play, too. You can join in at helping to solve problems. Why not start with your own?

Or start with someone else's so that you can gain the confidence and skill you need to solve just about any any problem?

Why do you think that people have problems?

What do you think prevents people from solving problems?

Maybe it's because of one of these three things:

1. They don't know.

They don't know that it IS a problem so the situation continues. This applies to many personal and relationship problems but it could apply to just about any problem.

They don't know how to solve it. Surely we would solve any problem if we simply KNEW how to solve it wouldn't we? Usually, unless:

2. They don't care.

No one is likely to solve a problem that they don't care about. Why would some one not care about a problem? Probably because:

a. They've fully adapted -- in which case the "problem" is now part of who they are. It may not be the best that they can be, but they've gotten used to it. The problem situation will then stay around until they DO care about changing it.

b.It's what they really, maybe even secretly want. They might make noises about someday changing the situation, but something about the situation gives them exactly what they are looking for (right or wrong) and so it isn't going to change until THEY do.

Number two isn't a judgement, but it IS a reason.

3. They don't have what they think they need to solve the problem.

Maybe it's resources like time, money,or the right set of people.

Maybe it's discipline, a method for solving the problem, or a process to solve the problem.

Maybe it's a character trait or skill like courage, clarity, creativity or compassion.

Think about any problems that you're experiencing right now. Could it be one of these three things keeping you from solving it?

Think about any problem in the world right now -- could it be one or more of these three things (don't know, don't care, don't have) preventing us from solving it?

I help people identify what's keeping their problems around, to figure out what to do about it, and then to do it: solve problems.

The good news is there's plenty to keep us all busy.

If you want to explore these ideas more, and maybe get busy solving some problems of your own, I welcome you to contact me at:

doug@frontrangeleadership.com

Start the conversation, and see where it goes...there's nothing to lose but our problems.

-- Douglas Brent Smith

Solving Problems | Achieving Your Goals

Comments

At the Root

Why would a happy person ever harm anyone? I don't think that they would. When we are happy, content, and at peace any effort to disturb or harm anyone else will just disturb or harm ourselves as well. When we experience someone trying to disturb or harm us we can be sure that they are already in pain. Fighting back might seem valid, but will it help? What if we helped heal the pain at the root? Difficult people did not become difficult randomly. Something, in need of healing, caused it. -- doug smith

Learn Beyond The Point Of Discomfort

Do you always learn things the first time you try them? If you do, please teach me how you do that! Learning takes the right attitude, the right tools, and the right repetition of trials. We fall off that bike the first time we get on it. We hit a sour note the first time we pick up a horn. We learn by degrees, even when we earn a degree. We seldom learn anything perfectly the first time we try it. Or the second, or the third... Yet we so often stop at the point of competency. That's when the learning has just begun! There is a huge range of learning ahead of and beyond competency. It's the road to mastery. We do not need to master everything. But imagine the joy of mastering what matters to you most. Wouldn't that be great? Wouldn't that be life-enhancing? And (most important) won't that take more learning than you've already done? -- Doug Smith

Thriving Teams

Thriving leaders thrive as their teams thrive. It's a partnership. It's a deal. It takes constant support and service to sustain a high performance team. Thriving leaders recruit with the enthusiasm they show for their team. People can tell when your team is cohesive, cooperative, and collaborative and people crave that for themselves. Create and support a team that supports each other and others will rally to the cause. You have no weak links. You have no poor performers. You have no superstars. You do have team members who need your guidance and support. That's the role of a leader. -- doug smith

Not Everything Is Possible

If what you want is impossible, want something else. -- doug smith

It's About The Cause

The art of leadership is keeping the ego out of the play. It's not about you. It's never about you. As a leader, it's about the cause. -- doug smith

Work Your Way There

Big goals need little goals to build momentum. -- doug smith

Of Course It's Not Easy

It's not the problem that upsets you, it's not getting what you want. Get clarity about what you REALLY want, and then work relentlessly to get it. If it was easy, how much fun would it REALLY be? -- doug smith

Money Isn't Everything

The profit motive is a poor substitute for genuine value. Money isn't everything. It's not even the most important thing. Oh, sure it's incredibly important. As a person who has many times wondered if there would be enough cash to pay the bills, I have come to respect mightily the value of money. But money is transactional. People are more than transactions. What we value most is more than money can buy, is more than a transaction, is a character of depth and peacefulness, and yes, love that is earned, not bought. Think about that for a minute. -- doug smith

Enjoy AND Improve

Do you enjoy success? If that seems like a silly question (Of COURSE I enjoy success!) think about it from another perspective. Sometimes we can taper down our enjoyment and appreciation of something because we know it's not perfect yet, and how can we be happy if it's not perfect? I do that somethings. It's not helpful. OF COURSE it's not perfect: nothing else and nothing ever will be. There are no perfect people, processes, performances, or plan. If we wait for perfection, we'll just keep waiting (and probably without gaining ground...) Let's do both. Let's enjoy our current level of success and achievement while also working to improve it. Performance must constantly improve, AND we can enjoy our exiting improvements. -- doug smith

Love Leadership

Can you be a high performance leader without loving your gig? I've know some great leaders in my life. Some were happy. Some were not. The ones who seemed to live the happiest of lives not only worked harder than anyone else around them (the price of leadership) they also loved what they did. They loved their field of play, their work, their calling, with an unrelenting passion. When a leader can give all there is to give out of love, it makes the hard work and service of leadership more than worth it -- it makes it a joy. Leaders do need more than love. They do need ambition, hard work, discipline, education, and sometimes a little luck comes in hand. But they do need love. Love isn't always enough, but it always belongs in the mix. -- doug smith

High Performance Leadership

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