Solve the Problem or Manage It

What do you do about problems that can't be solved/

It's not that you can't solve them or that you haven't found the person who can solve them, some problems simply can't be solved. They must be managed instead.

The best source of help and information I've found on unsolvable problems is the book Polarity Management - Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems by Barry Johnson.

The book includes valuable insights about spotting and managing unsolvable problems. He calls these polarities: "sets of opposites which can't function well independently." Within each pole, or opposite force, are upsides and downsides - things we would want to keep and things that we could live without. So often we do not get to choose one or the other - in order to keep the good aspects of a force we must live with the bad. To live with the bad, we must manage the forces in action.

We do not do that by eliminating either side. We manage both sides. We make peace with the reality that faces us while still not giving in to dysfunction. Instead, we seek high performance results by skillfully using what's available in optimal ways.

A simple example from the book is breathing: In one phase we inhale to intake oxygen. In the other phase we must exhale to clean out the carbon dioxide and prepare us for the next inhale. The two are opposites and yet interdependent. You can't really have one without the other.

I like breathing as an example because it is such a crucial part of operating as a centered leader. When we face troubling situations, when we work on unresolved problems, when we deal with strong personalities we must remain to breathe skillfully, mindfully. Taking the time to manage that breathing (even for a few seconds) allows our natural systems to operate more effectively. We'll breathe no matter what (when we are alive!) and yet we can influence the quality of that breathing through intentional, practiced actions.

Similarly we will have unsolvable problems no matter what - yet we can manage them and achieve our best possible results when we skillfully, mindfully apply high performance management techniques and practices.

A problem that can't be solved can be managed. The future is always open to re-design.

I'm all about solving problems and achieving goals. But, when the problem is really a polarity to be managed, that's the path to take.

What unsolvable problems are you wrestling with today? Could it be that they include polarities (opposites) that could be regulated or managed? What's your next step?

-- Doug Smith

Comments

Leadership and Process Improvement

As a leader, how much attention do you give to improving processes? Do you watch your team install a process and then simply let it flow on and on -- or do you drive a constant focus to improve that process? Too often I've seen leaders spend their efforts trying to fix people , when the center of their problems is usually broken processes and procedures . Any process can be improved until it's no longer necessary. And then you can shut it down. It's work is done. So keep improving those processes. If you're still doing it, you can still improve it. -- Douglas Brent Smith http://frontrangeleadership.com

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How do the people on your team feel about themselves? How about you? How do you feel about yourself? Self-esteem matters. The way we see ourselves influences the work that we do. If you want healthy, vibrant, vital work from your team, why not make sure that the way that they think about themselves is strong? There are few things stronger than healthy self-esteem. To strengthen self-esteem among your team members: Appreciate good performance by providing specific compliments Spend time talking one-on-one with team members just to let them talk about what interests them Smile The list is longer than that of course, but start with those three things and you'll like the results. And that is good for YOUR self-esteem, isn't it? -- doug smith

Win The Game

It would be nice to win the game. But, do you ever feel like you're in a game that keeps shifting the rules and making it easy to make progress but impossible to win? You've probably noticed lots of game elements creeping into service. Points, incentives, expiring coupons followed by new expiring coupons, leader-boards...on an on a relentless attack on service comes from playing a game designed -- you guessed it -- to maximize profit. If the customer is happy, fine, but the point is to make money. Not to put too fine a point on it but that's a lousy point. What if there could be something better? What if customer service excellence became playing a game where the customer always wins and that makes you happy? You don't have to. "give away the store" to achieve a winning game for all of the players. Just stop stacking the rules against customers and watch how much more they will want to do business with you. -- doug smith

Don't Jump!

I do it. You've probably done it, too. It gets us into trouble misinterpreting and reaching false conclusions. Slow down. Ease up from that jump. Stop that jump to conclusions and you'll avoid many big falls. -- doug smith

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High Performance Leadership

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