Solving Problems Can Be Fun And Rewarding

Creative problem solving is an important skill for managers to help businesses survive and grow. It's the gateway to new markets, products and methods. Creative problem solving is more skill then talent. Skills can be learned, enhanced and transferred. Follow these five steps to transform problems into opportunities.

1. Fact Finding

Search for problems. Big problems reach up and smack us in the face! They are easy to find. It takes more skill to uncover problems before they grow and threaten our survival. Find these problems when they are small. Then they are easier to solve and there are more options. Lotus did not think that Microsoft Excel was a problem until it was too late. In fact Lotus 123 enjoyed its best year just before sales plummeted. Lotus managers had defined their market as ?spread sheet user” while Microsoft made available a “suite” of integrated office tools. Excel might not have been as good as Lotus initially, but the office suite offered a broad range of solutions that won the battle.

Everyone claims to be a problem solver but you also need problem finders.

Search for facts. "Just the facts - nothing but the facts." Make no judgment at this point. You may think you understand the problem. The urge to jump to a quick solution is overwhelming - but don't be fooled by a quick and easy solution just to make it go away. Ask questions to collect facts without prejudging. Remember Lieutenant Colombo in the old TV series. He could ask the dumbest questions with perfect innocence. That's how you need to ask questions. Ask, What? Who? When? Where? Why? and How? Through my radio interviews with many CEOs of large corporations I discovered that one skill they share is asking good questions - then listening. Good CEOs realize they don't know the answers - but they learn to ask the right questions.

2. Problem Definition

How many times have you seen eager beavers attack a problem only to discover that they did not fully understand it and hence wasted time and energy in crafting a solution- and caused bad feelings in the process? I painfully remember one manager who never wanted to fix a problem - just to be seen in constant motion. He intimidated subordinates by forcing them to operate in the same fashion with the result that problems were never fixed only the symptoms addressed. His reign of terror caused endless waste of time, money and people.

Einstein said if he only had one hour to solve the problems of the world he would spend 50 minutes defining the problem and 10 minutes solving it. To define the problem ask yourself, "Why" - until you discover the real reason. Once you identify the root cause, restate the problem into an action statement, ' In what ways might I…?' Try to spell out more than one way.

3. Idea Generation

Have fun, generate lots of crazy ideas that might solve the problem. The more ideas the better. And remember ideas are born imperfect and fragile - very easy to kill. Edison had 10,000 ideas on how to create the light bulb - only one of them was right but all of them moved him in the right direction. You don't need that many but think in terms of dozens of ideas. Use humor to generate radical ideas. Suspend the 'rules' - maybe they can be changed. If you are an expert forget what you 'know'. Remember when all the experts 'knew' that the earth was the centre of the universe? Don't count on experts to solve the problems in their field because the rules are ingrained. The Wright brothers were not experts in aviation - they were bicycle mechanics. The most innovative people are those who did not know 'that it couldn't be done.' To get innovative ideas ask someone who knows nothing about your business. They will ask the questions and pose possibilities you can't see because you are blinded by the rules. Dell did not ask the other computer companies how it should sell computers. If they did they would not have challenged the rules and sold computers direct. The question to ask at this stage is "what if…?"

If you want to encourage your people to be creative you must allow them the freedom to suggest crazy ideas without feeling embarrassed and to make mistakes without the fear of punishment. If you enforce the rules like an Attila the Hun - don't expect creativity. When faced with a crisis Captain Picard of Star Trek, always ask for "Options?" He picks one but never ridicules the ones he does not select.

4. Solution Finding

You suspend your expertise to generate ideas. After, turn it back on to evaluate potential solutions and plan actions. Describe the elements of the best solution. These might include cost, time, and risk. "The best solution would look like.." Pick the best ideas and rate them using your criteria for best fit. Find three best ideas; re-examine your assumptions about each, then pick the one you will go with this time. Keep the others as back-up. The question you ask is, "How might we..?"

5. Acceptance and Action

How do you get others to buy into your solution? Involve them in the process from the beginning - give them ownership. Sometimes that means accepting a second best solution. If you do not involve the key stakeholders then you need to demonstrate how the solution and actions will bear fruit. Do so by stimulating discussion. Being dictatorial is often counter productive and engenders resistance.

After Art Fry invented the Post-it note for 3M he could not convince research or marketing to buy into the product. He asked himself, "Who will this product help?" His answer was secretaries. So he sent free samples to secretaries across North America including the phone number of the VP marketing to call for reorders. Guess what happened when the calls started coming in? Art finally convinced his people of the value of this product and 3M's most successful product was born.

In the information age we are tempted to believe that knowledge is power. But remember the words of Einstein who said; "Imagination is more important than knowledge."

George Torok launched his own business after more than 20 years in corporate management. He delivers seminars and keynotes to corporations and associations on thinking and communication skill. He is co-author of the best-selling, Secrets of Power Marketing, Canada's first guide to personal marketing for non-marketers. For more free tips, information or to contact Torok visit www.torok.com or call 800-304-1861