We have all, at some point in our careers, watched in wonder as a colleague or boss confronting a serious dilemma, apparently pulled a rabbit out of a hat. Facing an impossible challenge, our master thinker came up with a perfect solution with uncanny speed and without even breaking a sweat. How did he do that? More like a clever illusion based on a collection of skills, talents and attitudes that provide a cache of solution techniques upon which you can draw, often unconsciously, when you really need them.
THE PROBLEM SOLVING QUADRANT
Great problem solving skills develop from technical knowledge, experience, creativity and attitude.
TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE
Technical knowledge is often your starting point in the thinking process. You went to school, worked hard, took exams and met the standards to get you into your current industry or profession. Knowledge moves at the speed of light. Much knowledge becomes inadequate or even obsolete over time. We need to frequently review, revise and enhance what we think we know. Our schooling is a valuable foundation, but only to the extent that we keep our knowledge up to date. We have not "arrived" when we gain credentials to enter our profession, we have simply earned a ticket for the journey. Here, though, is an area where the newer recruit might be usefully included in high stakes problem solving. That newly-minted engineer on your team may know little about the way things are done in practice, but you can leverage her fresh knowledge of state-of-the-art concepts and methods in the process of designing a great solution.
EXPERIENCE
When we watch seasoned professionals solve a problem as if they are pulling a rabbit out of a hat, we are watching a clever illusion because sometimes they have simply identified similarities of cause and effect with a situation they have encountered before. This enables them to shortcut to a solution which appears to have already been tried and tested. It happens more often than we think: many "new" solutions are really recycled solutions.
A recycled solution may be appropriate and efficient for the matter in hand, but equally it may fall short. While knowledge and experience are extremely valuable, they can sometimes present roadblocks to good solutions. The manager relying solely on past experience to solve his current challenge minimally deprives himself and his organization of a truly innovative solution. But it could be much worse than that. If the only tool we use is experience, we run the risk of failing to recognize a subtly new and different set of circumstances. We assume that the current set of facts must fit into something we have met before and consequently our entire approach to the problem is based on a misconception. Any solution we reach is built on straw.
In short, although valuable in the problem solving process, if used alone, the preconceptions of experience can seriously inhibit objective and creative solutions.
ATTITUDE
Beyond good training and experience, the most effective problem solvers continually work on an attitude which promotes their ability to find the best solutions. Among their attitudinal characteristics are:
- Determination: they tend to be dogged in their search for solutions.
- Open-mindedness. They avoid letting their egos lure them into a dogmatic attitude.
- Comfort with detail and unlikely to be overwhelmed by it. They take an organized approach to the data.
- Controlled optimism. When they meet dead ends they adapt and move on rather than becoming discouraged. However, they do not allow their optimism to draw them to inappropriate solutions.
- Self-starting. They display initiative and get on with the task at hand.
- Discipline and focus. They avoid being distracted and organize their approach to the problem.
- Curiosity. They need to know the answer and are not satisfied until they find it.
- Self-criticism. They frequently monitor their approach, assumptions and results.
CREATIVITY
Creativity is the secret sauce that can propel you up the problem solving league tables. If you, like many, were convinced in your childhood that creativity was something you had to be born with, think again. Creativity can be taught. Creativity can be learned.
Since Edward de Bono introduced the world to the concept of lateral thinking in the 1960s, resources have grown to help us exercise our brains in a non-sequential, pattern-seeking direction. These include methods such as De Bono’s random stimulation which forces us to think about problems from different angles by finding a random word or picture and applying it to the problem at hand. So, for example, if we get the dictionary and randomly point to the word “call” our thoughts might move to the communication issues which surround our problem, or how we have labeled the problem and whether it is appropriate. We might associate “call” with “curtain call” and that might lead us to wonder how the solution we are leaning towards might be received by various constituencies (will they applaud it?) or whether we might have to solve a similar problem in the future (an encore) and don’t want to set a precedent that could prove difficult in the long run.
Random stimulation is just one of many methods to induce creative thinking. Roger Von Oech, the author of the wonderfully titled book “A Whack on the Side of the Head” has used statements attributed to the philosopher Heraclitus as a tool to unleash creativity. The long list of Fortune 500 companies and national governments that employ creativity consultants is a testament to the value of creative thinking techniques in solving business problems. Give yourself an edge by investigating creative thinking techniques. Not only will you improve your business thinking, you will likely also have fun in the process.
IN GOD WE TRUST - ALL OTHERS BRING DATA!
Mastering the quadrant will put you ahead of the problem-solving curve but only if you work to gather the most accurate and complete data available. Stay informed and current on all information affecting the problem. That includes information about perceptions of stakeholders as well as hard facts and figures. If you are more senior, have your team keep you posted and make sure they know that, no matter how difficult the news, you don't plan to shoot the messenger. If you are (or want to be) a rising star, do the spade work, keep your eye on rapidly changing information and perceptions and build a reputation for thoroughness and reliability. Resist the optimist's tendency to view data through a rose-colored filter. Similarly, resist the pessimist's tendency to defeatism. Most problems are solvable. Many problems are opportunities. All workable solutions must be based on the best data available.
ARE YOU ONE FACTOR SHORT OF A QUADRANT?
Very few of us are able to keep the four elements of technical knowledge, experience, attitude and creativity are seldom in perfect balance. The important point is to recognize the value of these tools, fully exploit the ones you have already mastered, look for opportunities to improve the others and bridge your thinking gaps by consulting team members or colleagues who possess what you lack. So for example, if you are a new professional, your technical knowledge is probably quite fresh and, although you lack experience, you can quickly develop a great problem solving attitude while gaining more experience. If you are a mid-level or senior executive, you can help to offset a tendency to use old solutions by tapping the creativity in your team and encouraging everyone in your group to stay current, meticulously gather and analyze data and adopt the problem-solving attitudes that give you an edge.
A professional coach can help you to work on your own problem-solving skills and show you how to leverage the talent on your team.
No comments:
Post a Comment