Six Steps to Solving Any Problem

One of my strongest skillsets is to accurately diagnose problems and come up with novel and effective solutions. Finding a problem is often a disorientating event, as it throws you out of rhythm, it leads individuals or teams to cast blame or worry about blame, and it exposes organizations to exponential risk.

But if your organization never encounters challenges, you're likely not pushing concepts forward enough. Much like the idea that history is never linear, no organizational progress occurs without setbacks.

It's important to note that your overall ability to accurately diagnose and react to problems is a byproduct of your culture. If you have established a culture where everyone is encouraged to raise problems they see without judgment or castigation, then collectively the organization will be much better equipped to handle any variety of problems. If your organization seeks to minimize problem identification, it's not as if those problems disappear. They lurk underground until they potentially become too big to solve without real, lasting reprecussions.

Here are my six steps to solving problems. Some may seem obvious, but they are often forgotten more often than you would think.

Breathe and Assess Before Acting

Too often, our first inclination to a problem or a roadblock is to immediately rush into action. This is doubly true if you feel you have the right solution. You will obviously have encountered a situation where you are bereft of ideas; therefore when one comes to you immediately, your first inclination is to run with it. But don't.

Remove Emotions

Do not get emotional if you caused the problem. Do not get emotional towards the person who caused the problem. If there is no identifiable culprit, don't get irrationally angry at the cosmos. Problems are often the result of an organization moving too fast, or not fast enough. Problems give you a chance to reset and reflect. They can be a positive force for an organization that is trying to tackle many things at once.

Identify a Core Team to Tackle the Problem

Just as problems can grow out of control, so can the team responsible for addressing them. Identify what skills are required to tackle the problem and find the solution, and minimize your core team to those who have those skills. Seek counsel from a larger group as necessary, but establish a core team responsible for the ultimate decision making.

Map Out Cause and Effect

By now, you will likely have identified some potential solutions. Some may sound better than others. But every one will have a direct effect immediately after putting it in action. Do your best to ?map out the cascading impact of any one decision you make to ensure a solution to today's problem does not create two, larger problems tomorrow.

Drop Everything and Execute

Okay - now that you have found the right solution to your problem, dedicate available resources to executing the plan. Too often, problems are exacerbated by a lack of full focus on the execution.

Mandatory Debrief

Never let a problem go solved without holding a proper debrief meeting. Encourage everyone to come to a meeting with a clear and honest assessment of what happened, how you addressed it, how to improve the next response to a problem, and, most importantly, how to avoid future problems.