Problems Are Hard - Decisions Are Easy

[scott]

Leaders are problem solvers. Our effectiveness at this, the most basic of management skills, can determine our success.

How good are you at solving problems?

Many managers just jump in with both feet when a problem comes up. Like a fireman rushing into a fire, managers leap into action!

The problem is that not even firemen rush into a fire without a plan or a process on how best to fight a fire. At least not firemen who want to be around for very long.

Here are a few ideas I've come up with, plus some I have borrowed from Peter Drucker and Dr. Alan Weiss.

Step One - Do you really have a problem?

Are you sure the issue is a problem? Often, what we think are problems are really decisions. Problems are hard. Decisions are easy.

To be a problem an issue must have 3 characteristics:

1) There must be a variation from the norm - something is different from what you had or from what you expect.

2) There must be an unknown cause of the variation.

3) You have to care.

Absent any of the three, and you have a decision and not a problem.

Step Two - Turn a problem into a decision

If you really have a problem, the task is to remove any one of the characteristics of a problem. Usually that is best done by focusing on the cause by investigation. Start by determining when the deviation from the norm took place. When did the situation go from acceptable to unacceptable? What happened at that time? What changed? What was going on then that might have caused the change?

You are looking for evidence and fact. Not conjecture and hunch.

Once you have determined the cause you have moved your problem to the realm of a decision.

Problems are hard. Decisions are easy.

Step Three - Make a decision

Once you know the cause of the problem you can list the possible remedies to the cause. How do you eliminate the cause? Each option will involve risk. Review options and the risks associated with each option. Make a decision and move forward. That may take five minutes, an hour, a day or a month. The process is the same.

Example: Sue is not meeting her sales goals.

Is this a problem or a decision?

--Is there a variation from expectation? Yes, she has always made her goals in the past.

--Do you know why she is not meeting her goals? No, you have a few ideas, but don't know and have not found absolute evidence yet.

--Do you care? Yes, she has been a good producer for a long time.

All three conditions of a problem exist. Therefore, Sue's lack of performance is a problem, not a decision.

Your objective now is to turn this problem into a decision by removing one of the requirements of a problem. Determine why she isn't meeting her objectives - find the cause. That will remove one of the three conditions of aproblem, and you'll then have a decision.

Investigate. Figure out when the variation in her performance started - look for the moment in time when things changed. All problems involve change. Find the time of the change. When did her performance move from acceptable to unacceptable? What happened at that time that might have caused the poor performance?

Once you discover when the performance changed, then you can review what caused the changes at that time.

Review her performance and actions. Look at her expense account. Is she visiting clients and prospects like she has in the past? Is she sick? Has her book of business grown to a point where she can no longer manage it? Has she changed assistants?

You might include Sue in the investigation. You might not. It all depends on your overall objectives.

Once you determine the cause, your problem becomes a decision.

Build a list of options and determine the risks of each option. Make a decision and move forward.

Problems are hard. Decisions are easy.

Learn more by attending my free teleseminar -TimeWise Problem Solving October 22, 2009 - http://www.ScottSimmonds.com/time