Can anyone say their day doesn’t include dealing with problems? If we set a Vision, we know there are obstacles between our current situation and achieving the goal. Our daily practices are designed to take us toward our Vision and overcome the obstacles that stand in our way.
Organizations focus on solving problems. Their first goal is to solve the problem of their customers. The second goal is to solve the problems they encounter in trying to solve their customers problems. The third goal is to serve their customers better than everyone else and be recognized for it.
Most organizations do not have a problem-solving formula that gets invoked each time they have an obstacle. Problems are left to the supervisor closest to the problem. Big problems are left to the CEO who must set the course. Employees are given job descriptions that the C-Suite says are necessary to help their progress. Employees who demonstrate above ordinary prowess in completing their tasks might be in alignment for a promotion or raise.
Why not jump the line? Learning the 7 Step Formula for Problem Solving could help you accelerate your career. Organizations need to fill leaderships with people who show skills and are adept at working with others. Employees who are willing to take risks, lead, collaborate, and be accountable stand out. If among these stand outs, someone demonstrated they like to pinpoint production or operation problems and could propose a process for investigating and solving the problems, they could garner the right attention.
Most people do not like to contemplate problems. They instantly create a negative space. We would rather celebrate success. So we need to start with a positive space. Let’s create a Vision of what things would look like if the problem were solved. If sales are down, let’s visualize what it would look like to achieve the sales necessary to indicate financial security.
The Vision can be general. I envision that sales have reached the level to give us the best market share of our competitors, provide the opportunity to offer more products, and allow us to expand vertically and horizontally. Now that we have a Vision, we could create a specific goal if we know what is needed. If we know that $100 million in sales would fulfill the Vision then we have a Vision and a Goal.
Now let’s assess the current situation. What is the current level of sales and how much would we have to increase to reach our Goal? One of the most important steps of the Formula follows in that we know have to determine the “root causes” of our current sales slump. We are not growing, why not? This Step may need evaluation from many different departments and the accumulation of data. It pays to spend time finding the true cause (s) and not just a periphery problem.
When we have solved for the “root causes” we need to create options in the next Step to overcome the obstacles. How many options could contribute toward reversing the current situation? When the gas station chain Flying J was facing dissolution because of a cash crunch, all the executives said the solution was filing Chapter 7 and dissolving the $18 billion revenue chain that was 17th in size of all U.S. private companies.
The new CEO invited all the executives to a meeting and locked the door and said we are not leaving until we have options. One option was to file Chapter 11 to give them relief from creditors. The second option was to sell off the asset (a refinery) that had caused the problem. The third option was to invite partners to infuse cash into the very profitable gas station chain.
Once the options have been listed, the next Step is The Plan. This is where we determine “who, what, and by when”. Each person participating in the solutions is named, has an assignment and a by when it is to be completed. Some plans may take a month and some take years. Flying J emerged from Chapter 11 in 18 months, found a merger partner for their gas stations, and now enjoy a very profitable organization. One of their goals was to save everyone’s job.
The final step is to set up Evaluation points to measure and reflect on progress. Adjustments can be made. If the plan is not going in the right direction, the process can be started again to create a new Vision, new root causes, or perhaps new options.
Why not start practicing on your own personal problems or goals? Go through the Steps. Then look for problems that if solved could help your organization. Ask for permission to investigate and perhaps lead a project to come up with options and a plan. If you can demonstrate success in working through the steps and solving the problem, you are on the way to recognition and accelerating your career.
Have questions? Want to explore the process for your personal life or you organization? Set up a short conference and we can talk at TalkingwithMark.com
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