Smart Problem Solving
High-Performance Management and Teams
There are no problems - only events
Problem-solving is a creative skill that we often get wrong. The issue is that as children, we were taught how to solve problems, to systematically break something down into bits or chunks, analyse them, look for things, patterns, themes, find options, think of solutions, evaluate and select one.
When our brains hear the word ‘problem,’ they automatically switch into problem-solving mode. This mode begins by reminding us that problems are largely negative or are something to be avoided, problems are bad. Our brain goes on to tell us that problems can have professional and personal repercussions. This is the frame of mind in which our problem-solving process begins, a negative state that kicks in negative cognitive processes as against positive ones. Hardly a good state of mind to start with.
Classic problem solving creates confusion and a lot of background noise compounded by high levels of anxiety and stress hormones that weaken the whole process and make us want to run away.
What to do
The answer to nearly every problem is the solution that subconsciously comes immediately to mind. It’s correct 90% of the time because there is a very high probability that you already know the answer. Your brain is really good at remembering trivia and things that you have read but have otherwise forgotten about.
You need to think in terms of EVENTS and avoid saying the word problem. Thinking about Events stops the error-prone Problem-Solving process from kicking in. In other words, you are still in a positive state of mind, plus, Events, which have passed by the time you start thinking about them, are mostly opportunities.
Sample Event
You’re an IT Manager, and you lose half of your communications network, it crashed, that’s a major event. But once it’s happened, it’s over, and it’s pointless thinking of it as a problem. What caused this situation was an event. To fix it, you need to identify the event cause, fix it and produce a 99.9% (Uptime) guarantee that it won’t happen again. That presents an opportunity. The upside of the event is that the opportunity is the ability to do something new, either immediately or soon after such as replace older equipment. An ability you may not have had before the event occurred.
This network crash I just described is from an actual event. The event was that a major router failed and took out half the network because poor network design had too many links going through the router. To add salt to the wound, the router had been flagged for replacement in the last budget submission but was knocked back by the business who said they would wear the risk (“Until it happens of course because then it’s your fault.”).
A quick OS patch and upgrade fixed the router and restored service. The opportunity realised was an immediate network redesign with new equipment funded by the business with a reminder that equipment gets flagged for a replacement for a reason.
When you’re in problem-solving mode, you run the very high risk of not identifying opportunities because you are focussed only on the underlying cause of the problem, potential damages to yourself and you are not focused on preventing the cause from reoccurring.
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