Problems – Obstacles or Opportunities?

Every day we are faced with many problems. They come in all sizes and flavors. Some are easily addressed, others are more complex and more difficult to solve and others, finally, look like catastrophes in our lives.

But, what is a problem? Do they also consist in these unpleasant situations that we dislike or even hate or can they also be sources of improvement?

Some of the definitions of “problem” will include:

• “Something that has to be solved or an unpleasant or undesirable condition that needs to be corrected”.
• “A question proposed for solution or consideration.”
• “An inquiry starting from given conditions to investigate or demonstrate a fact, result, or law”.
• “Something that causes difficulty or that is hard to deal with.
• “An opportunity for improvement”.
• “Failure to meet an objective or vision”.
• And many others.

All of these definitions are applicable depending on the situations facing us in the several aspects of our lives.

Personally, I prefer to face problems as opportunities for improvement. Facing, addressing and solving them should equip us with more knowledge and experience and hence becoming capable of successfully advancing towards higher achievement and fulfilment. In other words, advancing in the journey towards fulfilling our potential.

These could be nice words, but are they also applicable to organizations? The answer to this question is a definite and bold “YES”.

Now, other questions must be raised.

• What makes it so difficult to solve problems effectively?
• Why do we get sometimes stuck in always trying to solve the same problems and are not capable of moving forward?
• Is there a magic secret to solve problems, that we are not aware of?

Our next steps will be in trying to identify the step(s) or method(s) that can be used towards addressing problem resolution in a more effective and sustainable way.