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
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
Ever work on a problem so long that you've got a half of a dozen solutions buzzing around like bees near a flower?
What if those bees are really wasps? What if the value of your solutions is less than the lessons of the problem?
Yikes!
We can't solve a problem until we let go of the solutions that don't work.
To get started, let go.
-- 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
Problems caused by enemies last as long as you have enemies.
I don't know how to deal with an enemy, so I treat them like a friend.
It doesn't always work out, but we already know what to expect from enemies.
-- doug smith
Is it possible to have peace without justice?
I wrestle with that question because I know what I'd like it to be and I suspect that the real answer is something else. How about you?
The path of peace is sometimes covered with conflict.
Problems don't always present in a respectful, peaceful manner. Sometimes they barely even disguise the greed behind the behavior.
Tough, yet almost certain, the answer involves an assertive response.
A problem caused by greed might need a bit of justice.
Peaceful, restorative justice perhaps, but most definitely justice.
-- doug smith
What's the difference between a problem and a conflict?
A conflict is a problem you cannot solve alone.
-- doug smith
"It can't be answered!"
"It can't be fixed!"
"I don't KNOW what I want! You should know!"
On it goes. Off it goes. Frustration grows.
Some unsolvable problems act like they can never be solved. Some unsolvable problems want desperately to be loved.
Is love missing? Could that be your answer?
-- doug smith
Are you comfortable with ambiguity?
I'm not a fan of not knowing, but I've learned that sometimes I just don't know. Try as I might, I don't understand what is going on with a customer, or a team member, or a boss.
The effort to understand everything will always leave gaps.
Closing those gaps could take a long time. In the meantime, keep working.
-- doug smith
How does it feel when a problem lasts for a long time? Have you ever had a problem that lasted so long that it seemed like it would always be around?
When a problem is not solved or managed it must be endured. We can do better than that.
-- doug smith
