Taking on a problem

The reality is that we will face problems in life at some point, and it is inevitable that we will have to work towards finding a resolution to them. Therefore, one of the best methods to deal with them is to find out the easiest way to deal with them, and this has proven to be the best method for me over the years.?

A famous proverb goes: "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!" Source Unknown (If anyone knows the origin, please comment).

There is no such thing as eating an elephant. There is a metaphorical meaning to eating an elephant that is used to describe the process of eating a human being. Let me clarify that for you.

Here's what I mean...

My work has come across situations recently where I have been tasked with the task of assessing a problem (Raw & Fresh), preparing it, strategizing it, and deciding on the best approach to take for the given problem.

Having never been in those shoes before, I was challenged to try to approach the problem in a completely different manner and learned a few tricks that resulted in huge success in the process of resolving the problem.

There are some tips that I would like to share with you on how to approach an elephant that can be solved easily and could also be scaled later on... I am going to start from the worst ways to the best ways ..

The Basic Approach

You could solve the problem by swallowing the big fat elephant in one go. Yeah! The problem has vanished? Huh, where is the problem now? It is still in your stomach, causing all sorts of problems the next day.

After you have dealt with the next set of problems that the elephants create in your stomach, you have to sit down and resolve those issues, which takes on more and more time, eventually leading to pressure that starts building up from all corners to solve these problems as soon as possible.

In other words, never (ever) try to solve all the problems at a single time. That applies no matter how big or small the problem might be.

Okay, It's Solved

Throughout history, people have evolved, and so have their thinking patterns. Managers need to have a clear sense of the elephant in order to be able to solve it effectively in a way that does not create more headaches.

There are many complex issues and problems that are difficult to solve and this can be manifested in a lot of ways. One may not be aware that the solution to a complex issue or problem can be found inside another problem. In this case, you are back to the basic approach, which has to be avoided at all times.

It is time for you to break it down (yes, you heard it right). You must be taking a polylithic approach to address the elephant and I have seen this approach take out workload faster than you can ever imagine. think of. Cut the elephant into 10 smaller pieces (or even better if it is 20 or 30).

Why does this approach work best? I could give you two reasons:

· ?The pieces of elephant ABC could be shared with a colleague so you can concentrate on the important stuff. For instance, Elephant ABC could be divided into A, B, C. You could work on A, B and hand over C to another colleague to complete (just an example).

· ? It is better to concentrate on solving one step at a time instead of trying to solve many different problems at once, which you can solve but in a wrong way. By using this approach you will be forced to concentrate on one step of the problem at a time, which will result in a better outcome.

The issue has been solved in a better and digestible manner. You solved it, everyone's happy, and that's what's important. You finished the job.

I'd like to take it one step further by asking how can you solve the same problem more quickly and consistently while maintaining quality.

An Outstanding Approach

There's a good chance that you're still reading this to learn the secret, huh? It's the interesting part, and we need to take the hint from a proverb to make the next sentence a little more entertaining.

Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe — Abraham Lincoln

I think you've figured it out now?

First thing, you sit down with a piece of paper & pen. gathering information and organizing it on paper can be a helpful first step in understanding a topic or problem. Writing things down can also aid in the retention and comprehension of the information. It is important to take the time to fully understand and grasp the information before moving on to the next step.

In order to make the process more effective, the next step is to apply the Polylithic method to the data. Break it as tiny as possible, and separate it by functionality, by design, by miscellaneous (this is very important).

You should remember the formula to success. Rather than thinking in terms of the means to success, think in terms of a strategy. Think about clearing. Remember the ABC problem? A, B, C, it doesn't matter if it's easy or important. You must do it because it is yours.

A second important detail to consider is the timing of the task you take and solve. You might be able to solve A or B first, depending on the situation. However, if A depends on B, you would be stupid to take B first. Therefore, it is very important to do this analysis on the very first step.

The key is to run numerous threads for each task, keep them short and simple as possible, and if you feel at any given moment that the thread has lots of jobs working on the background, then break it up into small steps, so you can see how much time you and your team are saving.

Lastly, I would like to conclude by saying - Take one step at a time. Smash the elephant into a few tiny pieces. Run it simultaneously and never try to perform more than one task simultaneously (even if you are good at it).

It would be great if you could let me know about your ideas regarding the ideas I have thrown at you. Do tell me about your approaches to solving a problem.