WHAT IT IS, NOT WHOSE FAULT IT IS

"It is wise to direct your anger towards problems - not people; to focus your energies on answers - not excuses."

William Arthur Ward, 20th century American writer.

While easy to get angry with the person(s) you believe caused the problem, that's just a distraction.

Identify the issue(s) that need correction and move on to the solution. 

If that involves people, so be it, but don't start with that or end with assigning blame.

That's not a solution.

TRY, TRY AGAIN, JUST NOT THE SAME WAY

"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them."

Albert Einstein, 20th century German born theoretical physicist.

Here it is.

You tried something, things didn't work out as you hoped.

Try again but not the same thing the same way.

It didn't work the first time and it likely won't the second time.

WHAT-- YOU WORRY?

"Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength."

Charles Spurgeon, 19th century British preacher.

There are things which may happen tomorrow that you should worry about today.

But only worrying, not taking action to eliminate what you're worrying about, doesn't help.

PROBLEMS OF THE NIGHT

"The longest day soon comes to an end."

Proverb

We shouldn't but do carry our problems into the night.

The older I get the more capable I am of putting aside my concerns, at least for awhile.

The younger you learn to do that the sooner you will find solutions.

IT'S UP TO YOU

"Affliction comes to us, not to make us sad but sober; not to make us sorry but wise."

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American politician.

I don't believe affliction comes to us to do any of that but I do think that is or often can be the result.

It's all about how we choose to deal with adversity. 

THREAT MANAGEMENT

"Constant exposure to dangers will breed contempt for them."

Seneca (4 BC-65) Roman philosopher/playwright.

Which isn't a good thing.

Feeling as though we are under constant threat can ultimately lead to accepting that as the new normal. 

However not all perceived threats are worth the time and effort to resolve.

Do your best to make sure the ones you attempt to address are.

I WORRY ABOUT THAT

"When we have nothing to worry about we are not doing much, and not doing much may supply us with plenty of future worries."

Chinese proverb

For most of us, most of the time, the problem is not having nothing to worry about but rather too much.

Or at least so we think.

Take away that not worth worrying about and the list grows considerably shorter.

SO IT CAN'T BE DONE. HOW WILL WE DO IT?

"I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done."

Henry Ford

Late 19th/early 20th century American industrialist

While important, problem identification is only half of problem solution.

The smaller half.

PROBLEM SOLVERS

"The usual fortune of complaint is to excite contempt more than pity."

Samuel Johnson

18th century British author

Do you want to demonstrate real value to your employer?

For every problem you make them aware of bring them three possible solutions.

You Can't Fix It If You Don't Know What It Is

"We are more prone to generalize the bad than the good."

Eric Hoffer

20th century American philosopher

And in doing so we minimize the chance to fix things.

You won't often resolve problems if you don't first understand what they are.

Profit Or Loss?

"Desperation is sometimes as powerful an inspirer as genius."

Benjamin Disraeli

19th century British politician

The qualifying "sometimes" makes the difference.

If your situation is truly desperate, as in life or death, you will either be inspired to find a solution, or perish in the process.

The REAL Boogie Man

"Imaginary evils soon become real ones by indulging our reflections on them."

John Ruskin

19th century English art critic

The art of business planning is separating real challenges from those we think are real.

Let The Good Times Roll (But Plan For The Bad)

"We only think when we are confronted with a problem."

John Dewey

Early 20th century American philosopher

I think he's right and if so, that's a big problem.

(When) business is good, we don't plan for trouble, believing the good times will continue.

Problem Assessment

"The soft stuff is always harder than the hard stuff."

Roger Enrico
Former president/CEO PepsiCo

What do you suppose he meant by this?

My guess would be it has to do with our perception of what is/will be difficult.

I know I have over/under estimated numerous problems and in doing so, created bigger ones.

Problem Solving: Can We or Can't We?

"The greatest and most important problems in life are all in a certain sense insoluble. They can never be solved, but only outgrown."

Carl Jung
Psychiatrist

In other words forget the really big stuff; you can't do anything about it and/or maybe you can but only a little.

Do you think this includes significant cash flow, personnel and/or declining sales problems? Certainly in the extreme these are big, important issues to any company experiencing them but would they have made Jung's list?

I've been through all of these finding some to be "solvable" but rarely as I had hoped. Also a few went away before I could or did try to fix them.

Did I "outgrow" them? I don't believe so.

I think Jung's "certain sense" reference applied to business is a suggestion that we need to look for alternatives other than the one we originally expected and hoped to find.

What do you think?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Problem Solving: Deal With What You Can

"It makes no sense to worry about things you have no control over because there's nothing you can do about them, and why worry about things you do control? The activity of worrying keeps you immobilized."

Dr. Wayne Dyer
Self Help Motivational Speaker/Author

I'm OK with the first part but not the second. Or maybe I would amend it to say don't worry but do act. For what you can control take the classic three problem solving steps:

1. Define the problem
2. Develop a solution
3. Put the solution in place.
   

I worry when I know I could do something but haven't. When I do act I worry far less regardless of whether or not my actions ultimately solve the problem.

Management: No Time for Head in Sand

"When you confront a problem you begin to solve it."

Rudy Giuliani

In business as in life, the path of least resistance really isn't although many managers would like to believe otherwise. Organizations that teach their management to identify problems as a first step to solving them are way ahead of those that don't.