by Norman Halls, contributor
The seriousness with which a problem is identified is the most important issue in finding good solutions. Many organizations, however, are not proficient at articulating their problems and identifying which ones are crucial to their strategies. They may even ask the wrong questions, which is the key to solving any problem.
“If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it,” Albert Einstein said.
When developing new products, processes, or even businesses, most companies aren’t sufficiently thorough in defining the problems they’re endeavoring to solve and clearly expressing why those issues are important. “Without that the firmness, organizations miss opportunities, misuse resources, and end up pursuing innovation initiatives that aren’t associated with their strategies. How many times have you seen a project go down one course only to realize in retrospection that it should have gone down another? How many times have you seen an innovation program convey a seemingly breakthrough result only to find that it can’t be implemented or it addresses the wrong problem? Many organizations need to become better at asking the right questions so that they tackle the right problems.” Dwayne Spradlin Harvard Business Review
First the process to determine the underlying reason or reasons for solving a problem and to eliminate those reasons. The process, however, is not quite as simple. “There are multiple tools for, and multiple steps along the road to analyzing a root cause. No matter which tool you choose for there are the same basic steps: a. Defining the problem; b. Determining the reasons for the problem; c. Determining the underlying conditions that give rise to the reasons for the problem; d. Designing a solution; e. Implementing the solution; f. Evaluating the success of your solution.” Wrote Lisa Rudy Management Magazine
“Problem solving is the essence of what leaders exist to do. As leaders, the goal is to minimize the occurrence of problems – which means we must be courageous enough to tackle them head-on before circumstances force our hand. We must be resilient in our quest to create and sustain momentum for the organization and people we serve. But the reality of the workplace finds us dealing with people that complicate matters with their corporate politicking, self-promotion, power-plays and ploys, and envy. Silos, lack of budgets and resources, and many other random acts or circumstances also make it harder for people to be productive.” Wrote Karl Popper Note: In the business context, a silo generally represents a wall or boundary put up by an organization to keep them focused on accomplishing their goals and keeping outsiders from interfering with progress. “Transparent communication requires you to break down silos and enable a boundary-less organization whose culture is focused on the betterment of a healthier whole. Unnecessary silos invite hidden agendas rather than welcome efficient cross-functional collaboration and problem solving. Organizational silos are the root cause of most workplace problems and are why many of them never get resolved. This is why today’s new workplace must embrace an entrepreneurial spirit where employees can freely navigate and cross-collaborate to connect the problem solving dots; where everyone can be a passionate explorer who knows their own workplace dot and its intersections. When you know your workplace dot, you have a much greater sense of your sphere of influence. This is almost impossible to gauge when you operate in silos that potentially keep you from having any influence at all.” Glenn Llopis , Forbes Contributor
“True transformational cost reduction opportunities need to break ingrained structures and behaviors throughout the company. Moreover, the downturn creates a window of opportunity for companies to rethink and review the way they operate. It is time to seek short-term savings while building the foundations for another growth period in the future. It is dangerous indeed to merely stand in the wings as a passive spectator, as this could create disadvantages vis-à-vis the competition or lead to increasing pressure from shareholders, analysts, or creditors. In other words, it is imperative that companies use the downturn to seize the future with their own hands, before a top-down mandate is imposed.” by Ariel Fleichman, Booz & Company
“A problem well put is half solved.” John Dewey
“Effective communication is important in both personal and business aspects of our lives; particularly as ineffective communication can create short- and long-term hostilities as well as decreased work productivity. We often don’t think about the process of communicating while we are doing it but paying closer attention to how you both send and receive information can eliminate problems and improve relationships.” Wrote Karen Johnson. Al Switzler said; “When you look at organizational and team surveys, ineffective communication always scores as one of the top three problems. And as some have clearly experienced, this problem is not benign—the consequences are very serious. So why doesn’t this problem get solved? The most apparent reason is that urgent visible priorities always fabricate invisible priorities. When people are up against goals, deadlines, and meetings, it’s hard to stop and think about fixing infrastructure. And lastly, poor communication persists because managers sometimes just don’t see the problems it causes.”
