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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
Emotions can get in the way of solving problems. Stirring up anger, or fear is hardly ever helpful. But what if even in the toughest of situations we solved problems with love.
There can't be too much love, can there? And the supply is always renewable and inexhaustible if we stay with it.
Problems solved with love stay solved longer.
We also feel much better about the whole thing.
What do you think?
-- doug smth
Trying to fix a problem from the past could cause a problem right now.
When it's done, let it stay done.
-- doug smith
You could think of it as the ostrich effect - putting your head in the sand to avoid a danger. You can't see it anymore, you don't notice the discomfort, but it's still there and you're still exposed.
Overlooking the complexity of a problem does not simplify it -- or solve it.
As uncomfortable as it may be, we need to face our problems with courage, deal with them using our creativity, focus on our goals with clarity, and show compassion for anyone effected by our course of action.
When problems are complicated we need not hide. It's better to rise.
-- 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
You do not need to accept a solution that is forced on you. You might well be better off with the problem still in place.
Speed is great, until it isn't.
-- doug smith
Be careful of an answer that feels automatic. What if the obvious solution is an illusion?
Problems seldom create their own solutions without magnifying the problem.
Just because you can't see an agenda doesn't mean that there isn't one...
-- doug smith
Do you believe that love can solve a problem?
It may not be magic, but it is a great place to begin. Love, rather than resentment, for the situation. Acceptance and compassion for the person or thing in the way helps us see more possibilities.
Unconditional love enriches the target of the love. And, there's a wonderful bonus. Unconditional love enriches the giver most of all.
-- doug smith
Of course we all need to make money. We earn our profits with honor when we provide goods, services, and care for our customers. It's possible to create a better world AND make money in the process.
But, all too often, in that process we encounter problems. In the service of our people (customers, team members, vendors, regulators...) we should solve those problems.
Sometimes, companies seek to monetize that process by creating problem situations that beg for solutions, which are then made available for an upgrade with an extra fee. Yuck. Short term that may seem smart but long term it's burning down the house you live in just to warm it up.
The minute you monetize problem solving you create more problems.
And those problems will be much harder to solve.
-- doug smith
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
