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.

THIS TOO SHALL PASS

"Pain and pleasure, like light and darkness, succeed each other."

Laurence Sterne (1713-1768) British writer.

Like all things good, things bad also pass.

And the more you look for solutions, the quicker.

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.

FEAR DOING NOTHING

"There is no greater hell than to be a prisoner of fear."

Ben Johnson (1572-1637) English dramatist/poet/actor

We fear many things, most not worth the effort.

Do your best to sort out which those are, casting them aside.

The rest?

Work out solutions for what you fear and the list will grow considerably shorter, you considerably happier.

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.

Why Rather Than Who

"The cause of events are even more interesting than are the events themselves."

Marcus Tulius Ciero
1st century BC Roman writer/politican

So, when dealing with mistakes in business, focus on the cause rather than the mistake.

That is the only way to reduce or eliminate similar problems in the future.

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!