KEEP YOUR MIND CLEAR

 

                    THE PROBLEM SOLVING METHODS

                                     TOP PEOPLE HAVE DEVELOPED THE ABILITY TO RESPOND EFFECTIVELY TO A CRISIS, TO REMAIN CALM, RELAXED, AND CLEAR-EYED. THEY DISCIPLINE THEMSELVES TO STAY COOL AND UNEMOTIONAL. THIS ENABLES THEM TO THINK MORE CLEARLY, TO ANALYZE THE SITUATION, OBJECTIVELY, AND TO MAKE BETTER DECISIONS.

                            BUT THE MOMENT YOU BECOME ANGRY AND UPSET, YOUR NEOCORTEX - OR YOUR "THINKING BRAIN" - SHUTS DOWN. ALL YOU HAVE LEFT THEN IS YOUR PALEOCORTEX, YOUR EMOTIONAL BRAIN, WHICH THINKS IN TERMS OF "FIGHT OR FLIGHT". WHEN YOUR EMOTIONAL BRAIN IS IN CHARGE, YOU THINK IN TERMS OF BLACK AND WHITE, YES OR NO, DOING SOMETHING OR DOING NOTHING. YOU LOSE  THE ABILITY TO THINK IN SHADES OF GRAY AND TO LOOK AT ALL THE DIFFERENT POSSIBLE WAYS TO DEAL WITH THIS PARTICULAR SITUATION.

                      TOP PEOPLE REALIZE THAT EVERY PROBLEM IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO GROW IN SELF-CONTROL AND PERSONAL CONFIDENCE. IN FACT, YOU WILL RISE IN LIFE TO THE HEIGHT OF THE PROBLEMS THAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF SOLVING.

                         A NINE-STEP METHOD FOR SOLVING

                                          PROBLEMS EFFECTIVELY

                           STEP 1 : TAKE THE TIME TO DEFINE THE PROBLEM CLEARLY. IN MEDICINE, THEY SAY THAT "ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS IS HALF THE CURE". THEREFORE, YOU NEED TO ASK". WHAT EXACTLY IS THE PROBLEM?". IT IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING HOW SEVERAL PEOPLE CAN BECOME UPSET ABOUT A PROBLEM IN AN ORGANIZATION, BUT EVERY ONE OF THEM HAS A DIFFERENT IDEA OR DEFINITION OF THE EXACT NATURE OF THE PROBLEM THEY'RE FACING. YOUR JOB IS TO ACHIEVE CLARITY AND TO GET EVERYONE TO AGREE ON THE DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM BEFORE YOU MOVE ON TO THE BUSINESS OF SOLVING IT.

                        STEP 2 : ASK, IS IT REALLY A PROBLEM? REMEMBER, THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO NOTHING ABOUT. THEY'RE NOT PROBLEMS, THEY ARE MERELY FACTS OF LIFE. IF INTEREST RATES RISE OR THE SUBPRIME MORTAGE MARKET COLLAPSES, THIS IS NOT A PROBLEM. IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS AMENABLE TO A SOLUTION. INSTEAD, IT IS SOMETHING THAT MUST BE WORKED AROUND AND DEALT WITH.

                         ALSO, VERY OFTEN WHAT APPEARS TO BE A PROBLEM OR A SETBACK IS ACTUALLY AN OPPORTUNITY IN DISGUISE. SOMETIMES, THE PROBLEM DOES NOT NEED TO BE SOLVED AT ALL. INSTEAD, YOU ARE NOW FREE TO DO SOMEHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT - WHICH MIGHT BE EVEN FOR YOU AND YOUR ORGANIZATION.

                       STEP 3 : ASK, WHAT ELSE IS THE PROBLEM?" BEWARE OF ANY PROBLEM FOR WHICH THERE IS ONLY ONE DEFINITION. THE MORE WAYS YOU CAN DEFINE A PROBLEM, THE MORE LIKELY IT IS THAT YOU WILL FIND THE BEST SOLUTION.

                 WHEN WE WORK WITH CORPORATION IN WHICH SALES ARE BELOW A DESIRED LEVEL, WE FORCE THEM TO ASK TWENTY-ONE QUESTIONS, EACH RESTATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM, IF ACCEPTED AS THE CORRECT DEFINITION, LEADS TO A DIFFERENT SOLUTION AND OFTEN TO A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DIRECTION FOR THE ORGANIZATION.

                  FOR EXAMPLE, WE WILL ASK,WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? AND THE FIND ANSWER IS " OUR SALES ARE TOO LOW".

                       THE NEXT QUESTION IS "WHAT ELSE IS THE PROBLEM"?

                         ANSWER : OUR COMPETITOR'S SALES ARE TOO HIGH".

                         NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE. IT THE PROBLEM IS THAT YOUR SALES ARE TOO LOW, THE SOLUTION MAY BE TO INCREASE YOUR ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION AND BEEF UP YOUR SALES ACTIVITIES. IF THE DEFINITION IS THAT YOUR COMPETITORS SALES ARE TOO HIGH, THE ANSWER MAY BE TO IMPORVE YOUR PRODUCTS, CHANGE YOUR PRODUCT LINE, LOWER YOUR PRICES, OR GO INTO A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BUSINESS ALTOGETHER.

                        BY ASKING AND ANWERING A SERIES OF QUESTIONS LIKE THIS, WE EVENTUALLY FIND THE CORRECT DEFINITION, ONE THAT IS AMENABLE TO A WORKABLE SOLUTION.

                        STEP 4 : ASK, HOW DID THIS PROBLEM OCCUR?" SEEK TO UNDERSTAND THE CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM SO YOU CAN ENSURE THAT IT DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN. IN YOUR LIFE OR BUSINESS, IF A PROBLEM RECURS REPEATEDLY, IT IS A SIGN THAT YOUR BUSINESS IS POORLY ORGANIZED OR OUT OF CONTROL IN THAT AREA. THERE IS A DEFECT TO RECUR. YOUR JOB IS TO FIND OUT WHY THIS HAPPENS REPEATEDLY SO YOU CAN SOLVE THE PROBLEM AT ITS ROOT.

                     STEP 5 : ASK, WHAT ARE ALL THE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS? THE MORE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS YOU DEVELOP, THE MORE LIKELY YOU WILL COME UP WITH THE RIGHT ONE. THE QUALITY OF THE SOLUTION SEEMS TO BE IN DIRECT PROPORTION TO THE QUANTITY OF SOLUTIONS CONSIDERED IS PROBLEM SOVLING. BEWARE A PROBLE FOR WHICH THERE IS ONLY SOLUTION.

                   STEP 6 : ASK, WHAT IS THE BEST SOLUTION AT THIS TIME ? 

 

                               SOMETIMES , ANY SOLUTION IS BETTER THAN NO SOLUTION. AN AVERAGE SOLUTION VIGOROUSLY EXECUTED IS OFTEN SUPERIOR TO AN EXCELLENT SOLUTION THAT CANNOT BE IMPLEMENTED BECAUSE OF ITS COMPLEXITY OR BECAUSE NO ONE HAS THE ABILITY TO EXECUTE IT.

                              THE RULE IS THAT FULLY 80 PERCENT OF ALL PROBLEMS SHOULD BE DEALT WITH IMMEDIATELY. ONLY 20 PERCENT OF PROBLEMS NEED TO BE PUT OFF TO A LATER TIME. IF YOU MUST PUT OFF A PROBLEM, SET A SPECIFIC DEADLINE FOR MAKING A DECISION ON THAT PROBLEM, AND THEN AMKE YOUR DECISION AT THAT DEADLINE WITH WHATEVER INFORMATION YOU HAVE AT THAT TIME.

                         THERE IS A RULE THAT SAYS THAT EVERY LARGE PROBLEM WAS ONCE A SMALL PROBLEM THAT COULD HAVE BEEN SOLVED EASILY AND INEXPENSIVELY AT THAT TIME. SOMETIMES, THE BEST STRATEGY IS TO "NIP IT IN THE BUD". WHEN IT IS CLEAR THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM AND A SOLUTION, DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE - AND DO IT QUICKLY.

                     STEP 7 : MAKE A DECISION. SELECT A SOLUTION, ANY SOLUTION, AND THEN DECIDE ON A COURSE OF ACTION. ALWAYS ASK, "WHAT IS OUR NEXT ACTION? WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW?

                   STEP 8 : ASSIGN RESPONSIBILITY : WHO EXACTLY IS GOING TO CARRY OUT THE SOLUTION OR THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF THE SOLUTION? IT IS QUITE COMMON FOR A GROUP TO MEET TO SOLVE A PROBLEM AND TO AGREE ON A SOLUTION, BUT WHEN THE GROUP MEETS AGAIN TWO WEEKS LATER, IT TURNS OUT THAT NOTHING HAS HAPPENED. WHY? NO ONE WAS MADE SPECIFICALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR CARRYING OUT THE DECISION.

                      STEP 9 : SET A MEASURE FOR THE DECISION. WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH THIS DECISION, AND HOW WILL YOU MEASURE RESULTS? HOW WILL YOU KNOW THAT IT WORKED? THE MORE ACCURATELY YOU CAN DETERMINE THED RESULT THAT YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE BY THE SOLUTION, THE MORE LIKELY IT IS THAT YOU WILL ACHIEVE IT.

                                                      THE BIG REWARD

                               THE MAIN REWARD YOU GET FOR SOLVING PROBLEMS IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO SOLVE BIGGER AND MORE IMPORTANT PROBLEMS. YOUR RATE OF PAY AND SPEED OF PROMOTION AND THEREFORE YOUR FORWARD MOVEMENT IN YOUR CAREER ARE LARGELY DETERMINED BY YOUR PROBLEM-SOLVING ABILITY. THE MORE YOU FOCUS ON SOLUTIONS, THE MORE SOLUTIONS YOU WILL COME UP WITH, AND THE MORE VALUABLE YOUR CONTIBUTION WILL BE TO YOUR ORGANIZATION.

                       THE FLIP SIDE OF SELF-ESTEEM IS CALLED "SELF-EFFICACY". YOUR LEVEL OF SELF-EFFICACY IS DEFINED AS "HOW COMPETENT YOU FEEL YOU ARE TO SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS AND ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS".

                       THE MORE COMPETENT YOU FEEL YOU ARE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS AND DIFFICULTIES OF DAILY LIFE, THE MORE YOU LIKE YOURSELF. THE MORE CONFIDENT AND COMPETENT YOU BECOME IN SOLVING EVEN LARGER PROBLEMS AND GETTING EVEN MORE IMPORTANT RESULTS.