Business Problem Solving
The reason so many young people have trouble with problem solving in mathematics is because they learn an answer to a problem but they don’t always learn problem solving methods that they can use over and over in situations analogous but not the same. The objective in school was to give the answers that the teacher already knew. The objective was to work a problem in exactly the way it was demonstrated on the board and come up with the answer in the back of the book. Problem solving in school is seldom about coming up with a strategy, a plan, to solve the problem. Seldom are students encouraged to think about several options to solve a problem before choosing one. The impression they get is that all problems have one right answer and it is their job to find that one right answer. In business problem solving and in life in general, we do best if we first think about options before choosing a path or plan for solving the problem. This is very different from how we were taught to solve problems in school.What is your most common approach to solving business problems? Do you try to gather all the data first and hold off any decisions until you are sure you have all the data? Or do you tap into your gut feel and generalized experience to come up with a decision?Do you need first hand connection with the problem to solve it? Or are you comfortable to analyze a situation based on examples from others and being able to visualize the situation? How you approach a problem is most dependent on your preferred thinking style which is explained on another page of this web site, called thinking styles.Do you love puzzles and tough problems to solve because they are a challenge and you enjoy challenges? Or do you groan when a complex problem arises at work because you like to be able to apply your tried and true methods that seldom fail you? However, even if you don't know your preferred style you can move on to develop some problem solving tactics that will work for you and your team. Sometimes we use the word fix instead of solve or solution. We are using those words to mean the same thing. Often fix is used to mean a physical change happened (hammer in a new nail) while solution is used for more complex problems with multiple layers. 1. Define the problem.Too often in business we jump into solving a problem because someone says we have a 'problem' before making sure we really understand what the problem is. One person's definition of the problem may work for him but you may interpret what he said very differently.Going after a solution to a problem without being sure what it really is is a mistake. You will spend time, energy and money and then have solved a totally different 'problem.' 2. Who Cares?Make sure the problem and the need for a solution has agreement from anyone in the company who makes decisions about how to spend your time and any budgets involved.A problem for one employee may not be deemed as a problem for the organization. Ask the question, "Who cares about this problem?" What if the problem is a customer problem caused by your organization? You may decide that if even one customer is affected it is worth pursuing a solution. Those are internal decisions and are usually made around the importance of that one customer and the cost (time, effort, and money) of fixing it. The cost of fixing must be compared to the cost of not fixing it, such as the possibility of losing that customer or bad press. 3. Cost vs. BenefitThere is always a cost to going into business problem solving mode and fixing a problem. Sometimes the cost is mostly time away from other productive uses of your time. Sometimes the cost has to be figured out because there are so many related issues.Benefit analysis comes from what results for your organization and/or customers from solving the problem. 4. Brainstorm OptionsFor all problem-solving in business it is best to come up with as many options to be considered as possible before making decisions. Large numbers of options does not mean analysis paralysis. This is a quick and useful method for looking at many sides of a situation and be sure it is understood before jumping to conclusion.It takes discipline to refuse to consider which answer to pursue until there has been enough brainstorming to have many alternatives to consider. It will take longer but your solutions will be more thought out and better. Return from the Business Problem Solving page to the brainstorming-that-works home page
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