No Matter What

Solve what you can. Manage what you must. Keep learning no matter what.

-- doug smith

Shrink That Problem

Left alone, problems continue to grow.  That's not what we want, but problems don't care about what we want.

Shrink that problem to insignificance by solving it.

-- doug smith

You May Need to Do Something

No matter what anyone tells you, some problems can not be imagined away.

We'd like to believe that positive thinking can accomplish anything. Anything? I'm not so sure.

It's comforting to think that our beliefs matter more than the facts -- but have you ever pitted your beliefs against immutable facts and prevailed? That stove top will still burn your hand no matter how much you believe that it is harmless. That gathered army on your border could still invade you no matter how positive you think about your enemies.

I'm not against a metaphysical awareness -- far from it -- I just don't rely on metaphysics when physics is in control. 

Imagine all you want. Believe all you want. But, that problem you are facing probably will need some action if you want to solve it.

-- doug smith

 

Fear?

Difficult situations amplify fear. When we are uncertain of how to handle a situation, it can push our fear out into the open.

But, it is worth considering:

Problems are not the cause of fear. Problems can be the cure for fear.

Whatever brought the fear on, once you've solved the problem in front of you, that fear is likely to fade.

There are so many benefits to solving problems that we might as well keep solving them!

-- doug smith

 

Illusion?

A house without problems may be filled with lies.

I'd like to pause just to ponder that.

Problems are not abnormal. Problems are a natural outcome of life in action. While our hope and desire may be perfect harmony, and we may spend considerable efforts toward obtaining that perfect harmony, for most of the time the perfect reality is that some things are not balanced, some things are not optimal.

Problems simply exist.

It gives us the fun opportunity to solve them, even while inconveniencing us or slowing us down.

But a house without problems? A business where no one ever complains? A family that seems totally devoid of dissonance? How can that even be?

A house without problems is probably hiding something. And that hiding is a problem.

-- doug smith

Just a Nudge

What if that problem is really a process to a better result? 

Sure, it looks like a problem. It aggravates. It blocks. But what if there's a message underneath that we wouldn't otherwise discover, if it wasn't for the problem?

Maybe that message is: change this. Make this better. Set a better goal. Work to achieve it.

Even a poke can be a nudge that we need. That problem is just a nudge.

-- doug smith

Be Careful of Shortcuts

It may be tempting to side-step a value to try to solve a problem. We rationalize. We justify. We promise it's a temporary thing.

But busting values is NOT a temporary thing. A broken value does not easily heal. It leaves scars.  

A broken value leads to protracted problems.

Keep the value, find a better solution, and let's stay centered. 

-- doug smith

Solving the Problem...

Problems proceed with uncentered mischief without our consent.

They play with us, they push on us, without caring about our focus.

The focus is up to us. Staying centered is up to us. Solving the problem...is up to us.

-- doug smith

 

Multiples

Remember, the root cause of a problem might be in more than one garden.

Keep digging.

-- doug smith

Awareness

To resist a problem also resists the solution.

Solutions begin with awareness.

-- doug smith

Suggested Problem Solving Guidelines

Centered problem solving relies on problem solvers who are focused, mindful, centered individuals. Working collaboratively is easier when the team members are personally fine. Here are some suggested guidelines for working together in a way that helps sustain that sense of centeredness.

Speak and act with clarity, creativity, courage, and compassion.

That's it.

These are also four core strengths of leadership, with the fifth being centeredness (which results from careful attention and development to the other four.)

None of us are perfect at any of these key strengths. Putting them together in focused combination bonds and builds us in ways that are far more difficult otherwise.

Clarity, creativity, courage, compassion, and centeredness: it's the heart of centered problem solving.

-- doug smith

 

Not In Reverse

Avoiding problems does not mean that problems will avoid you.

 -- doug smith

In the Moment

Sometimes, random chance can provide the surprise you need to solve that problem. Something new is useful for you when you center on it in the moment.

-- doug smith

 

It's Still Us

Who's going to solve our problems? Where's the super hero to the rescue?

We all sometimes wish for someone to solve all of our problems. That someone is us.

-- doug smith

Complications

Be careful about making the solution more complicated than the problem.

-- doug smith

 

Fertilized

Problems fertilize growth -- but at first all we feel is, well, fertilized on.

-- doug smith

Numbers

You don't have too many problems; you have too few solutions.

-- doug smith

 

A Great Gift

Teaching and training people how to solve problems is one of the best gifts that you could give.

-- doug smith

Solvable in pieces

A problem that's too big to solve is likely constructed of many solvable problems.

Solve what you can.

-- doug smith

Slower might be better

Incomplete solutions can make a problem worse. Speed is not always the first criteria for success.

-- doug smith

Oops!

 

Imagine how many fewer problems we'd have if we'd just stop causing them!

-- doug smith

High Performance Leaders Are Accountable

High performance leaders don't get to pass the blame. It's possible, but worthless, to blame someone else for your problems. Who will deal with the issue? Who will solve the problem? Who is accountable?

Every problem is a leadership problem.

Take charge. Forge forward. Rally the team. 

That problem that concerns you belongs to you. 

-- doug smith 

It Takes Discipline

 

Have you ever solved a problem quickly, only to have the solution break on you?

Solving problems requires collaboration. Unless we cooperate with other people, and they with us, our solutions will rapidly unravel. 

We also need discipline. Old problem-sustaining habits must give way to new solution supporting actions. We need to be able to hold our center, breathe thru our perceptions and hold onto helpfulness.

Even if you reach a solution to a problem quickly, it takes discipline to make the solution stay.

-- doug smith

A good solution...

 

"A good solution solves more than one problem, and it does not make new problems."

-- Wendell Berry

Understand the Problem

 

It takes a pause to ponder: where is the fuel for this problem? Who is keeping it alive? Why does it continue to thrive?

It tangles us up. Confused, we become polarized. Stuck, there is no end in sight. How do we break apart from this entrenched problem?

To disentangle and detach from an emotion that's tied to a problem, first understand the problem.

Breathe. Focus. Accept. 

Understand.

-- doug smith

Time to Solve?

 

It is helpful to tell someone about a problem. Talking about it is a great start.

If you've told more than two people about a problem maybe it's time to solve it.

-- doug smith

Change the Questions

 

"To solve our problems, we first need to change our questions; otherwise we'll probably just keep getting the same old answers, over and over again."

-- Marilee Adams

Quality Solutions

One hundred bad solutions are not nearly as useful as one good one.

Choose carefully.

-- doug smith

Simple

Fix what's broken. Pause. Repeat.

-- doug smith

Illusion?

Are you sure about what you're sure about?

The way I'm looking at a problem may not define that problem.

Now what?

-- doug smith

Inner Problems

Inner problems have a way of finding outer reactions.

They get in the way of solving anything, until we solve them. Until we're centered, we're off-kilter, and that's a tough position to solve anything.

The outer reactions that inner problems bring create conflict, tension, complications...a long list of challenges.

Yes, we must solve problems. Maybe a good place to start are those problems hiding inside us.

-- doug smith