Personal Problems

It's the system. Or maybe it's the process. It might not be you at all.

It might not be your team at all. Personal problems come from things we say and do, and they can also come from an unfair, deeply flawed system. Personal problems can also be caused by broken processes. 

And yet we often try to solve problems with personal solutions: work harder, work faster, work smarter, muscle up and carry on. Can't you just solve your own personal problem?

Personal problems with systemic causes are hard to solve with personal solutions.

Personal problems may not be personal -- the system or process doesn't care who you are -- but they're still problems.

-- doug smith

Another Problem

A truly ambitious goal will give you a new problem to solve.

-- doug smith

 

Not Perfect?

 

Have you ever held onto a problem just because you couldn't find the perfect solution, an elegant, efficient, bruise-free choice? 

That effort -- for perfection -- has slowed me down a number of times. Perfection can be such a bother, because nothing is perfect in this life and never will be. 

There's no perfect way to solve a problem -- but you don't need perfection to solve it.

If you can find the best way, that is certainly good enough.

-- doug smith

Strong

It''s a challenge to your composure, to your centeredness. It's an attack on your boundaries. How do you react?

Nothing gives anyone the right to impose their problem on your property.

While it's not cause for aggression, it's also not cause for surrender. Stand strong. Remain resilient. Be bold yet kind.

A smile works as well during a refusal as it does during a deal. Smile, stand strong, or move along. 

A smile works as well during a refusal as it does during a deal. Smile, stand strong, or move along. 

When the need for creativity arises, creative problem solving is on your side. Bring your adversary into the picture. Ask, instead of demand. Then collaborate on a creative mix of solutions with at least one too good to refuse. 

-- doug smith

Changing Persistent Problems

 

Things change. Problems deepen. 

Solving a persistent problem might require us to let go of what has fixed it in the past.

 -- doug smith

Hard Problems

We can push really hard on hard problems and not get anywhere. The problem may be too fixed to get fixed. It may be too tough to push over. It feels like the problem is going to win.

What if you didn't push? What if you took a quiet, calm, centered approach to truly observing the problem. What exactly is going on? Who is being served or deterred?

Hard problems can benefit from soft solutions.

What do you think? Is it worth a try?

-- doug smith

 

In Front

 

Problems bring pain. Maybe it's physical, or emotional, or logistical-- as long as the problem is there, so is that pain.

When we solve the problems in front of us we can put the pain behind us.

-- doug smith

The Right People

Who do you get to help you solve your problem?

You, of course, that's a given. Also, people who will be impacted by any solution you try. People who are feeling the effects of the problem right now. Even (especially) people who you think may be at the root cause of the problem.

Engage the right people in creating problem solutions so that they don't become the wrong people while implementing them.

-- doug smith

 

More, please

How many solutions does your problem need?

Sometimes the answer is just one more. It could also be that your problem needs twenty more before you find the one that sticks.

Finding solutions is the fun part anyway so just keep going. 

Create more solutions to a problem than you need in order to find one that works.

-- doug smith

 

An Important Pause

We're all in a hurry. Urgency is a way of life. When we're working on a problem it feels as if the faster we solve it the better.

But, have you ever solved a problem only to shortly discover that you haven't solved it at all? New complications arise. Surprises confound you. The problem roars back.

The worry creates the hurry. The rush is not enough. Better to find the actual cause of the problem and face that issue. 

Taking time to analyze a problem will save time in solving it.

And that saves time overall.

That pause you take may be more important than you thought.

-- doug smith

 

Centered First

Sometimes it's more important to be centered than to be right.

-- doug smith

 

Get Help Solving That Problem

Do you try to do everything on your own?

If you're part of a team, and especially if you are leading a team, it goes better by collaborating. Working together. Helping each other. 

People like to be connected. What better time to strengthen your connections than when you have a problem?

You don't need everyone in the world to help you solve a problem but you probably do need someone. Find out who that is, and get them involved.

Besides, it is way more fun that way, too.

-- doug smith 

Need leadership training? That's what I do: doug smith training

Problem Control

 

Can you solve every problem?

Of course not. Some problems need more time, more resources, more miracles.

Sometimes the best we can do as a leader is not to make things worse.

Even if you can't solve a problem there's no reason to magnify it.

Look at that problem from the viewpoint of someone who just doesn't care. Does it look different? Is it really a mountain or simply a molehill (of course, if you've ever had moles you know what kind of problem that is).

Will any of it matter a year from now?

If yes, get busy. If no, breathe?

-- doug smith

The Seat of the Situation

Problems are complicated. We need to think clearly about them, to analyze their causes. We also need to act quickly because, oddly or not, some solutions expire. 

Sit, or move?

Think, or act?

This isn't a universal assertion, but maybe one with value: 

the situation isn't entirely the problem, and the problem isn't entirely the situation.

As closely as cause and effect may nest, there are likely other causes, other effects worth considering. It's a bit like widening the circle in a jam session. Yes, the new instruments complicate things, and yes, sometimes the notes are discordant, but oh! the miracle of the unexpected harmonies can make the how piece better.

That's the situation. What if it existed before the problem, and needs to exist beyond the problem?

We can sit with a problem without making that problem the entire situation.

What do you think?

-- doug smith

 ps: The drawing is only partially related. It't a situation. It's a problem. I drew this dancing with the idea of problem vs. polarity...and other random situations. 

 

A Quick Quote from James Clear

 "Don't ignore the problem, but keep it light. Take action with a smile. Adding tension won't solve your troubles faster. 

Even when the problem is hard, it doesn't need to harden you. Unknot yourself. Body loose, head clear, and then take the first step. 

Be happy in the doing."

-- James Clear

Enjoy The Outcomes

Every problem leads to an outcome.  Some you want and some you definitely do not want. 

You're going to prefer the outcomes of the problems you solve.

Don't you think so?

-- doug smith