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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High Performance Leadership

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