Don't Force Your Solutions

What happens when you impose your solution on someone else's problem?

If it works, they will be happy that it works and likely still resent you for imposing the solution. If it does not work (which is often the case) you of course will get the blame.

People need to come up with their own solutions. Your advice may be brilliant. Your insistence may be strong. But their resistance to change (and need for ownership) will quite likely get in the way.

We should not force someone to try our solution to their problem.

Even if their ideas aren't as good, they are much more likely to follow them.

Unless your trying to teach both of you a lesson. Good luck with that approach.

Centered problem solving involves much more. It is taking an approach of working on the relationship as well as the problem. It's attacking the process, and not the person. It's cooperating and collaborating. That's not as easy as imposing your own solution -- but much more likely to succeed.

-- Douglas Brent Smith

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