A Copper's Solution-Six Principles to Save the Day.

Police officers are among the ultimate trouble shooters, required to act quickly after things have deteriorated so far the caller can no longer cope. So how do officers go about solving problems that are handed to them hot and what can you learn from their approach to apply to your business?

I have to say that you will not find this model in any training manual, it has not been endorsed by any chartered body, think tank or college of anything. It has however been proven to work by 25 years personal experience, backed up by almost everyone else I have worked with.

There are six basic principles which flow fluidly and are in no fixed order but for the sake of simplicity I will plump for the most common and perhaps, the most useful order.

Presence.  It is incredible how often just being there helps a situation. This need not be accompanied by loud noises, flashing lights, bright colours or anything that causes pain. People often only need reassurance and the knowledge that they are not alone. On the other side of the equation a presence can turn thoughts and actions in a new direction, especially with principle four in mind, read on.

Clarity.  Arriving in the middle of a situation (even better a developing one) calls for a close look at what is actually going on, not what you may have imagined or indeed what is presented to you, but what is actually going on. This is where the order of the principles gets murky as you need to communicate to obtain clarity or act to create space and a safer environment. In an ideal world with your presence having the desired effect, you can use all of your senses to understand the truth. I use understand in the loosest way, emotions and personalities produce situations that defy all logic. Maintaining an open mind while attempting to see all sides of the problem, even (especially) if you don’t agree with them is crucial. People under pressure have distorted perceptions, others have an agenda, some will just flat out lie to you.

Communication. This is a continuous process, not a step in isolation, essential early on in making your presence felt or to getting to the heart of the situation. I’ve placed it here as this is the point where you really start to make a difference. That is unless of course you have already dragged someone off kicking and screaming, it happens.  You must receive as well as transmit, we have two ears and one mouth in that proportion precisely because we need to listen twice as much as we broadcast to properly understand the situation. Pointing that out to protagonists has been known to help.

Assuming the authority/physicality/charisma/charm/facial expression (delete as required) accompanying your presence has been sufficient and your intellect has wrapped itself well enough around the issue, you can summarise while offering alternative points of view. You have the advantage of being clear about what is happening and how things need to change.  

It is not necessary or often even possible to completely resolve the issue immediately, but you have begun to control the problem. Controlling the problem is always the first priority, this includes not being injured yourself or letting harm come to anyone else. It is unreasonable to expect to be able to handle every situation so there is no disgrace in asking for help. Your skill to this point will allow those coming to your aid to be more effective and efficient. It may well be that you have had to withdraw or even wait for others to arrive before you intervene. In the latter case, your ability to communicate your observations and assimilated knowledge will be priceless. It may take a bomb disposal expert from your legal or HR team to tackle this so it will help them enormously if you are not a casualty as well.

Consequences. It may be that the consequences are immediately apparent and do not need to be spelled out, perhaps even so apparent that the problem evaporates on your approach.  Consequences can be positive or negative as motivation always comes in two flavours, the one you desire and the one you would do anything rather than take a bite from. Your clarity and presence of mind helps choose which one to highlight. The most important thing is not to make threats or promises you cannot or will not follow through on. If you do you lose credibility, once you have lost that you are likely to become the next victim. Be clear, be firm, be fair and be heard.

Do something. Many interventions fail because people procrastinate or can’t decide what to do. You may be working with very limited information and time, eyes are on you, there is an expectation from everyone that you are the solution and you know exactly what to do. There comes a point where you must act, full in the knowledge that you will be judged, in slow time, with perfect hindsight. If you think that is scary, consider now the consequence of doing nothing. Inaction can lead to loss of control and the situation becoming worse. Doing nothing, or waiting for more information, is also a decision you will be judged upon by the 20/20 vision committee. They may be in the boardroom, the media or the order book but they are always there. Action combined with confidence and experience will save the day. You are smart so you can adapt as more information comes to light, so crack on.

Review. The only way you will know that your intervention is effective is to see how it actually works out in practice. If things get better, or promise to in future, you have done the right thing so keep up the momentum. This may take a few seconds to realise or months before you can prove it. You have to look and listen closely for the subtle changes in posture, tone, behaviour or PayPal payments. The clouds may part letting the sun beam onto your naturally optimistic countenance, highlighting you as the saviour of the day and revealing all to be well once more. Ok, that hardly ever happens. It is more likely that you will have to repeat the last two steps over and over with slight adjustments each time until things work out, hope is eternal.

Your position should always be that you did the right thing at the time, for the right reasons with the information and resources you had available. Even if what you did turns out to be wrong once all the facts are known, you can still look in the mirror and feel comfortable in yourself, secure in the knowledge that you did something. You probably did some good even when things go badly, that happens too. It is easy for people to blame you, but where were those people when the going was tough and hard deeds needed to be done? They were probably not beside you or right at your back supporting you. Those who criticise are often not capable of doing what you do so treat their words accordingly. Those who are capable have been there and know what it is like. Their words will be supportive and guiding, not critical, that is how you know the difference.

These principles apply to almost any situation, even completely internal conflicts that only exist between your own ears. Presence of mind, clarity of thought, positive communications, balancing consequences or even just exploring them, then doing something to see how it works out... works. You are more likely to get it right first attempt but there is no guarantee. There is nothing more demoralising for your opposition than your ability to bounce back again and again, while adapting until the problem is no more.