How to Avoid Rushing to Solutions When Problem-Solving

It's understandable that we leap to solutions. Crossing items of one's to-do list and fixing problems provides a dopamine surge that is ... Youhave1freearticlesleftthismonth. Youarereadingyourlastfreearticleforthismonth. Subscribeforunlimitedaccess. Createanaccounttoread2more. Innovation HowtoAvoidRushingtoSolutionsWhenProblem-Solving Fourstepstohelpyouthinkthingsthrough. by DanielMarkovitz by DanielMarkovitz November27,2020 RichardBaker/GettyImages Tweet Post Share Save GetPDF BuyCopies Print Summary.    Beforeyoucansolveaproblem,youneedtoknowwhatexactlyyou’retryingtosolve.Unfortunately,toomanyofuswanttorushtoconclusionsbeforeclearlyunderstandingtheproblem.Theauthordescribesafour-stepprocessthathelpsyoudefinetheproblem.First,don’tjustrelyonthedata.Takefacts,especiallyobservableones,intoaccount.Second,considerhowyou’reframingtheproblemstatement.Itshouldpresenttheprobleminawaythatallowsformultiplesolutions,andmakesureit’sfocusedonobservablefacts,notopinions,judgments,orinterpretations.Third,thinkbackwardsfromtheproblemtoanalyzethepotentialfactorsthatleadtoit.Lastly,ask“why”repeatedlybeforeyousettleonaconclusiontomakesureyouinvestigaterootcauses.Thesefourstepsdon’tguaranteeasolution,ofcourse.Buttheywillprovideamoreclearlydefinedproblem,andwhilethat’slessimmediatelygratifying,it’sanecessarysteptofindingsomethingthatreallyworks. Tweet Post Share Save GetPDF BuyCopies Print Leerenespañol Leremportuguês AlbertEinsteinreportedlysaidthatifhehadanhourtosolveaproblem,he’dspend55minutesthinkingabouttheproblemandfiveminutesthinkingaboutsolutions.ButEinsteinwasn’ttryingtorunacompanyinthemidstofapandemic,whenmostofusareworkinglongerhoursandmakingnewdecisionseachdayonissuesfromchildcaretoemployeesafety.Betweenourcognitivebiasesandourfinitecapacityfordecisionmaking,whenourmentalgastankrunslowonfuel,wetendtoconserveenergybyeitheravoidingdecisionsorrushingtosolutionsbeforewehaveachancetofullyunderstandtheproblemwe’regrapplingwith. It’sunderstandablethatweleaptosolutions.Crossingitemsofone’sto-dolistandfixingproblemsprovidesadopaminesurgethatiscomforting,especiallywhentheworldaroundusfeelsmorevolatileandthreatening.Nevertheless,anineffectiveBand-Aidsolutioncanmakethingsworse,andcanbejustasdamaginginthelongrunastheproblemit’stryingtosolve.Inmyworkasaleadershipconsultant,I’vedevisedasimple,four-stepprocessthatcanhelpyougetpasttheurgetorushtosolutions. 1.GoandSee It’seasytojumptolousysolutionswhenyoudon’thaveastronggraspofthefacts—andyoucan’tgetthatifyoudon’tleaveyourdesk,youroffice,oryourconferenceroom.Gatheringfactscomesfromcloseobservation. Spreadsheetsandreports,whichweoftenrelyonarejustdata,two-dimensionalrepresentationsofreality.Datatellsyouhowoftenamachinebreaksdownonanassemblyline.Facts—meaningdirectobservations—showyouthatthemachineisdirty,coveredinoil,andhasn’tbeencleanedormaintainedinalongtime. DatatellsyouthatworkersarenotontimefortheirZoommeetings.Facts—garneredfrominterviewswithyouremployees—revealthat9:00ammeetingsaretoughbecauseparentsaregettingtheirkidssettledforonlineschool;12:30pmmeetingsarechallengingbecausethey’remakinglunchfortheirkids;andthattheheadlongrushtovideoconferencinghasallbuteliminatedthenecessarydowntimebetweenmeetings,andpeoplejustneedsometimeforrest. Datawithoutfactsgivesyouatwo-dimensional,black-and-whiteviewoftheworld.Factswithoutdatagiveyoucolorandtexture,butnotthedetailedinsightyou’llneedtosolvethethorniestproblems.Therefore,toarriveatusefulconclusions,takebothintoconsideration. 2.FrameYourProblemProperly Problemstatementsaredeceptivelydifficulttogetrightforseveralreasons.Forone,it’seasytomistakethesymptomsfortheunderlyingproblem.Forexample,youmightassumethattohelpachildinFlint,Michiganwhohasbehavioralissuesinschoolandstrugglewithreadingcomprehension,youneedtofocusonthoseproblems.Butthoseareonlysymptoms.Therealproblemisleadinthemunicipalwatersystem. Awell-framedproblemstatementopensupavenuesofdiscussionandoptions.Abadproblemstatementclosesdownalternativesandquicklysendsyouintoacul-de-sacoffacilethinking. Considerthesetwoproblemstatements: Ourhospitalneedsmoreventilators. Ourhospitalneedsmoreventilatoravailability. Noticethatthefirststatementisn’treallyaproblematall.It’sasolution.Theonlypossibleresponsetoneedingmoreventilatorsis…tobuymoreventilators.What’sthesolutiontothesecondproblemstatement?It’sunclear—whichisagoodthing,becauseitpushesustothinkmoredeeply.Avoidingtheimplicitjudgment(weneedmoremachines)raisesquestionsthathelpusdevelopbettersolutions:Howmanymachinesarecurrentlybeingrepaired?Arewedoingenoughpreventativemaintenancetokeepallofthemoperable?Doweknowwherealloftheventilatorsare,ordonurseskeepsomeofthemin“hiddenstashes”(arealproblematmosthospitals).What’stheturnaroundtimetomoveaventilatorfromonepatienttothenext?Dootherlocalhospitalshaveexcesscapacity,andisitpossibletosharewiththem? Ifyouseethatyourproblemstatementhasonlyonesolution,rethinkit.Beginwithobservablefacts,notopinions,judgments,orinterpretations. 3.ThinkBackwards Whenfacingaproblem,insteadofleapingforwardtowardasolution,gobackwardstomapouthowyougothereinthefirstplace. Thisfishbonediagram,alsoknownastheIshikawadiagram,providesamodelforidentifyingpotentialfactorscausingyourproblem: Theclassicfishbonediagramhassixcategoriesoffactors,butthisisn’tarule;youmighthavefourcategoriesorseven,andyourcategoriesmightbedifferent.Thinkofthemaspromptstohelpyouorganizeyourthoughts.Alawfirm,forexample,probablywon’tneedtheequipmentcategory,whileasoftwarecompanymightwanttoincludeabranchforprogramminglanguage. Ifyourfirmisstrugglingwithlowermoraleandemployeeengagementduringthepandemic,youmightgroupcontributingfactorsintothefollowingcategories:WorkEnvironment,Technology,Psychology,Communication,andNorms.Thesepromptswillleadyoutoexaminehowchallengingitisforpeopletoworkfromhome;howwellyourcollaborationsoftware(andpeople’scomputerequipment)supportsgroupwork;howeffectivelythecompanycreatesopportunitiesforpeopletoconnectwithcoworkers;howwellleadership’smessagesreachemployees;andwhatculturalnormsandexpectationsareapplicabletoaworkfromhomereality. 4.AskWhy Asking“why”repeatedlybeforeyousettleonananswerisapowerfulwaytoavoidjumpingtoconclusionsorimplementingweaksolutions.Whetheryouaskfivetimes,orthree,orasmanyas11,eventuallyyou’llgettotherootcause,aseachquestionpushesyoutoadeeperunderstandingoftherealproblem.Findingtherootcauseensuresthatyouhaveadurablesolution,notaBand-Aidthattreatsthesymptoms.Forexample,asking,“Whyaren’touremployeeswearingthemandatedPPEallthetime?”mightrevealthatyoudon’thaveenoughPPEinstock,becauseofaholdupinpurchasing.Theobvious—andineffective—solutionwouldbetosendasternmemotothepurchasingdepartmentinstructingthemtoexpediteshipments.Butadeeperinquirywithfurther“whys”wouldrevealthatsuppliersweren’tdeliveringontimebecausetheaccountingteamwasstretchingoutpaymentsinordertoconservecash...atthedirectionoftheCEO. AsH.L.Menckensaid,“Foreverycomplexproblem,thereisasolutionthatisclear,simple,andwrong.”Thesefourstepsdon’tactuallyguaranteeasolution.Buttheywillprovideyouwithamoreclearlydefinedproblem.Andalthoughthat’slessimmediatelygratifying,it’sanecessarysteptofindingsomethingthatreallyworks. ReadmoreonInnovation orrelatedtopics DecisionmakingandproblemsolvingandBusinesscommunication DM DanielMarkovitz ispresidentofMarkovitzConsulting,afirmthat makesorganizationsmoreprofitablebyimprovingoperationsandexecution. HeisafacultymemberattheLeanEnterpriseInstituteandteachesattheStanfordUniversityContinuingStudiesProgram.Hisnewestbookonbetterproblemsolvingis TheConclusionTrap.   Tweet Post Share Save GetPDF BuyCopies Print ReadmoreonInnovation orrelatedtopics DecisionmakingandproblemsolvingandBusinesscommunication PartnerCenter Diversity Latest Magazine Ascend Topics Podcasts Video Store TheBigIdea Data&Visuals CaseSelections