Two Approaches to Solving Organization's Problems
It has been said that 98% of an organization's problems can be solved
routinely. However, the remaining 2% of an organization's problems –
the problems that have the greatest effect on the organization – require
→
innovation
to surmount.
Build
cross-functional expertise
to be able to find innovative solutions to old problems. Simple solutions to
many problems are often just nearby – waiting for you to find them.
Solving People Problems
People problems are inevitable. Various people
problems arise from the differences in
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perceptions, negative
emotions, or unclear communication. The greatest communication problem is
that the message sent is not the message received. Often, the problem or the
conflict lies not in objective reality, but in people heads.
To prevent or
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solve
people problems,
base your relationships on accurate perceptions, friendly and clear
communication,
empathetic
listening, appropriate emotions, and forward-looking positive outlook.
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Put yourself in their shoes to understand their perceptions and the way
of their thinking. If you wish to achieve their psychological commitment to
a mutually satisfactory outcome, involve them in the problem solving process
and reaching that outcome...
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Socratic
Method
To solve a problem, brake it down into a series
of questions, the answers to which gradually distill the answer you seek...
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Positive Thinking: 5 Benefits
Brainstorming
The best-known and widely used team-based problem-solving and
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creative-thinking technique is
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brainstorming. One major
reason why brainstorming is useful is that it helps to free us from
'fixed ideas'...
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Brainstilling
Brainstilling helps you sol
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solve a difficult problem.
or arrive silently and peacefully to an
enduring decision.
Our conscious is only a small fraction of the
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subconscious, and the conscious has only a
small fraction of information that is available to the subconscious.
What you need is just
to tune your subconscious mind into relevant cues by focusing on a
specific problem and opening your subconscious. If you do so, relevant
information, insights and solutions will suddenly come to you seemingly
from out of nowhere...
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Five-Why Process
The "Five-Why
Process" was introduced at
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Toyota to find solution to manufacturing
problems, but this approach can be applied to any other area as well.
Ask "Why this problem happened?" to discover its underlying problem; then
ask "Why?" again to go deeper by another level until you reach the root
cause. Asking "why" repeatedly, possibly more than five times, directs the
focus toward real causes so problems can be solved permanently...
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STRIDES Problem Solving Model
The STRIDES model
was developed by the Quality Support Council of
Fidelity Investments.
This model provides employees in every part of the corporation with a
common language and process for implementing
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Kaizen
– a strategy of
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continuous improvement. As stated in Fidelity's Models
for Quality Improvement, STRIDES is the approach to use "where the
problem is more complex."...
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NLP Solutions:
Reframing
"The way we see
the problem is the problem."
~
Stephen Covey
Reframing is a
powerful technique to solve problems. The value of reframing is being able
to consider an issue from many different aspects. It is a way of getting
people to think: 'How else can I do or consider this?'...
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Turning
Customer Problems Into Business Opportunities
Don't look at
customer problems as a necessary burden of business. See customer problems
as a great
→
opportunity instead. If you can
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resolve the problem quickly to the
customer's satisfaction, you will
strengthen the bond of trust with that customer, who will
spread the good
word to others...
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Selling
Is Problem Solving
Analyzing Problems and Selecting Solutions:
Six Thinking Hats
The Six
Thinking Hats proposal analysis tool invented by Edward de Bono7
is particularly useful for
evaluating
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innovative and
provocative ideas.
While most of our
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thinking is adversarial, the six thinking hats technique
overcomes these difficulties by forcing everyone to think in parallel. As
participants wear each hat – white, red, yellow, black, green, or blue –
they all must think a certain way at the same time...
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Effective
Problem Solving in Business
By:
Brian Tracy
Your ability
to
communicate is the most important skill you can develop to get on to the
fast track in your career. Perhaps the most important thing you do in
business is to solve problems and
make decisions, both by yourself and with
other people...
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The Power of
Prototyping
Prototyping can help you
tackle problems when you don't have the answers.
"When the project is especially complex,
prototyping is a way of making progress when the challenges seem
insurmountable. Focused prototyping helps resolve little critical problems
one by one. Once you get in gear, you'll be surprised at how easily some of
the solutions appear," writes Tom Kelly5 from
IDEO.
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