Quick Thoughts on Problem Solving

Do you spend much of your time solving problems?

Are you tempted to jump to solutions before you've truly understood the problem?

It's nothing to feel guilty about. Most of us do it most of the time: jumping to fast solutions before we see all the threads of the garment stuck around our necks. Throwing light into the darkness and missing the shadows behind us. Stumbling thru the caves of our intentions and forgetting the vision that led us to this mountain to begin with.

That's why I enjoyed the short blog entry here:

The Real Roots of Problem Solving

I especially like this observation: "Problem solving does not start with brainstorming options; brainstorming is only effective when it is preceded by clarity, focus, and understanding."

Exactly.

That's why in the problem solving process we use at FRL it starts with FOCUS. It's important to know what it is you are looking for. What is the ideal state?

Then we move to ANALYZE. What's going on? What is causing us issues? Grant Litchman calls it dissonance and recommends a first step of "find the dissonance". Sure. Figure out what's going on.

Our processes are not exactly the same, and still it is well worth exploring his ideas. The problem may be bigger than we think; we can't be sure until we slow down enough to figure it out.

Those solutions will still be available. Why not take the time to find the best one?

-- Douglas Brent Smith

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Resistance to change is our most natural and unproductive impulse. Helping people thru that change changes their lives positively. It's s something that high performance leaders do. -- doug smith

Listen to Their Story

"An enemy is a person whose story we have not heard." -- Gene Knudsen Hoffman Without contrary evidence it always seems like we're right. Even WITH contrary evidence we get stuck often defending our story, our view. The story may not be wrong, but it is surely incomplete. Listen. Ask questions. Understand. Learn. High performance leaders look for common ground. -- doug smith

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What's the problem with anonymous feedback? The list is long. When people can say anything they want, without any accountability, they are sometimes rude. The feedback becomes exaggerated. Not knowing what to do with it (who do you try to please?) it frustrates the person receiving the feedback. Anonymous feedback encourages anti-social comments. It opens up a level of venting that is not healthy for either party. And, rather than building relationships, it tears them down. The best place for anonymous feedback is the garbage. It's too easy to be negative when no one knows who you are. Hold people accountable. Teach them that two-way communication is responsible, respectable, and useful. Let's keep the trash talking on the basketball court and build relationships of worth at work. -- Doug Smith

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