Tackle Problems
Posted on Monday, May 28, 2007 At
7:26 AM
How many times have you faced a problem that initially seemed insurmountable? Unfortunately, problems will always arise, getting in the way of our goals.
However, adopting a methodical, three-step approach to problem-solving will help you to come up with fresh ideas and improve your chances of picking the best solution:
1. Identify the root cause
Most people tend to skip this step and go straight on to generating options. But that can mean tackling the symptom and not the underlying cause of the problem.
So use the ‘five whys’ to look at the real reasons something is a problem. Just ask yourself ‘why?’ up to five times. For example, a problem might initially present itself as:
2. Generate options
Try to think of at least two different ways of approaching the problem. Don’t just go for the first solution that occurs to you. Try to come up with three or four different options.
Then for each option jot down a few notes on what the advantages and disadvantages of each option are. If you don’t know what the advantages and disadvantages are, who can you ask who might know?
Ideally, if you have the time, leave your list of options for a day or two and come back to it. Do you have any new options to add to your list?
3. Choose a course of action
Finally it’s time to choose one of the options.
But if you are at all unsure about which one to pick, why not ask someone else for a second opinion?
If at first you don’t succeed, try it a different way.
Remember to...
However, adopting a methodical, three-step approach to problem-solving will help you to come up with fresh ideas and improve your chances of picking the best solution:
1. Identify the root cause
Most people tend to skip this step and go straight on to generating options. But that can mean tackling the symptom and not the underlying cause of the problem.
So use the ‘five whys’ to look at the real reasons something is a problem. Just ask yourself ‘why?’ up to five times. For example, a problem might initially present itself as:
- ‘I don’t get on with my boss’ – ‘why?’
- ‘Because he thinks that my quality of work is bad’ – ‘why?’
- ‘Because he says that my typed documents are poor quality’ – ‘why?’
- ‘Because I’ve never had training on using a computer.’
2. Generate options
Try to think of at least two different ways of approaching the problem. Don’t just go for the first solution that occurs to you. Try to come up with three or four different options.
Then for each option jot down a few notes on what the advantages and disadvantages of each option are. If you don’t know what the advantages and disadvantages are, who can you ask who might know?
Ideally, if you have the time, leave your list of options for a day or two and come back to it. Do you have any new options to add to your list?
3. Choose a course of action
Finally it’s time to choose one of the options.
But if you are at all unsure about which one to pick, why not ask someone else for a second opinion?
If at first you don’t succeed, try it a different way.
Remember to...
- Give yourself the option of turning other people down. Time is precious and the more of it you spend on helping other people, the less you will have of it to spend on yourself and your career.
- Step back from a problem to think it through. Jumping in immediately may only tackle a symptom and not the underlying cause.
- Don’t forget to think about what you will actually do to improve yourself. Go back to Chapter 3 to revisit your plan of action.