It's harder to solve a problem alone when you are at the center of the problem.
Get another perspective. Stay open to your own part of the problem. Sometimes, deep into the search, we discover that we could be the cause.
Start with reflection. It could provide direction.
-- doug smith
It isn't possible or necessary to solve every problem. Focus on the problem in front of you.
Solving that first problem builds momentum and experience for solving the next problem. You'll never solve them all, but imagine how much better things will be after you've solved the ones right in front of you.
-- doug smith
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
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
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
What looks like the root cause of a problem might have roots of its own.
Keep digging.
-- doug smith
What's the strongest emotion for you?
What's the one emotion that more often than not seems to run you instead of you running the emotion?
If the answer is "none" then good for you, and maybe share how you got there because it sure is hard for most of us. Emotions once activated send all the right chemicals thru our bodies to keep us in that elevated emotional state. When we need that flush of energy it's worth experiencing the rush. When we don't, it gets in the way.
We can choose.
We have the ability to take emotions out of problem solving if we are willing to.
Are you willing to?
-- doug smith
We tend to claim that we don't want problems. Let's just keep it smooth. Let's not rock the boat.
And yet, worry and anxiety and low self-esteem can produce an unlimited amount of concern. There must be a problem, right, because there always is a problem?
It's hard to talk yourself out of a problem that you talked yourself into.
What do you tell yourself about your problems? Maybe that's a place to start.
-- doug smith
Maybe it didn't turn out \exactly as you planned. Maybe the problem is still clanking around in the background or even right in front of you.
There you are. Calm. Focused. Centered.
Centered problem solvers are OK even if their problem is not yet solved.
-- doug smith
Simply buying some one's solution solves one problem but it might not be yours that it solves.
Consider the source. Consider the agenda. Consider the ramifications.
Centered problem solving could take longer, but you'll like the results more.
-- doug smith
Some problems are only problems because you think they're problems.
Too much thinking? Or too little?
-- doug smith
Have you ever had a conversation with a customer service representative and you could tell that they were simply following a script?
How did you feel about that?
Sometimes the script works, but usually it doesn't feel human to the customer. As we get more and more responses from actual robots, it's worth considering how much better we can give human responses as humans.
Quick Service Do's and Don'ts:
Instead, do these:
As an old six sigma project manager I firmly believe that most problems are caused by broken processes, not broken people.
But let's face it, some people not only don't realize that but they refuse to fix the process.
If you know a process is broken, and do nothing to change that, the problem gets worse. If you can solve someone's problem but refuse to, you might be the problem.
Don't be the problem. Fix the process, even if you need help.
Because there are no perfect processes, but there are lots of people avoiding them.
-- doug smith
An illusion that convinces you it is a problem might as well be solved.
Maybe you solve the problem or maybe you solve your thinking about the problem, why not solve it?
-- doug smith
Too much pressure...or too little.
Too much stress...or not enough.
More problems are caused by imbalance than we realize.
Find the balance.
Center the attention.
Breathe.
-- doug smith
