Any organized method of problem solving is more effective in generating higher-quality solutions than no method at all. This chapter presents seven systematic steps for solving problems.
Define Your Problem Clearly—in Writing
Writing is called a psychoneuromotor activity. By writing out your problem on paper, or on a whiteboard or flipchart, you are forced to use your visual sense, your auditory sense, and your kinesthetic sense. As a result, you activate your whole brain in the act of defining your problem clearly in the first place. Not surprisingly, fully 50 percent of problems can be solved by the very act of defining them clearly in advance.
In most cases where people have wrestled with a problem for a long time, it is because they haven’t taken the time to clearly define the problem in the first place. Fuzzy thinking is a major obstacle to success in life and in the world of work.
Read, Research, and Gather Information
Get the facts. McKinsey & Company is one of the most successful management consulting firms in the world. The “McKinsey Method” consists of, first of all, identifying the problem, and all variations of the problem, in advance. The second part is gathering information from every source possible, and validating every detail to make sure that it is correct rather than merely an assumption.
The more information you gather, the more likely it is that the correct solution to your problem will emerge from the data, like cream rising to the top of milk. Be prepared to follow wherever the facts may lead. Resist the temptation to fall in love with a solution early in the process and then to seek only that information that will confirm your initial conclusion. Keep an open mind.
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
Remember that whatever problem you are dealing with has probably been solved by someone else, somewhere, and often at great expense. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Ask questions of informed people and consult experts. Look for others who have had the same problem and find out how they dealt with it. You do not have to start from the beginning in most cases.
Perhaps the best time and money you can spend when solving a complex problem in your business is to hire a consultant or an expert in that field. By paying an expert a few hundred or a few thousand dollars, you can often save yourself a fortune in money and lost time. Some of the most costly mistakes I have made in business stemmed from my failure or reluctance to consult an expert before committing time and money to a business idea or project.
Let Your Subconscious Work
Once you have assembled the information, and discussed it thoroughly with the other people involved, first try consciously to solve the problem. Think of everything that you could possibly do, and then, if you’re not satisfied with the answers that you have generated, put it aside for a while. Set a schedule to revisit the discussion or problem at a later time when everyone has had a chance to think about it for a while.
In the Bible, it says, “Having done all, stand.” What this means with regard to problem solving is that once you have been through the entire information-gathering process and you still do not have a solution, release the problem completely and get your mind busy elsewhere.
When you switch the focus of your attention from the problem or difficulty to something completely different that engrosses your mind completely, your subconscious and superconscious minds begin to work on the problem twenty-four hours a day, like a supercomputer processing a complex formula or series of numbers. By turning your problem over to your higher mental powers, and just relaxing and getting your mind busy elsewhere, very often this higher mind will bring you the answer you need, exactly when you require it.
Use Your Sleep
Review your problem just before going to sleep, and ask your subconscious mind for a solution. This seems to work particularly well when you have a difficulty or a dilemma that you must deal with the following day. By requesting a solution, you will often wake up with a perfect answer or solution to the problem that you have to deal with that day. You may wake up in the middle of the night with an answer or an insight. You may wake up in the morning and the answer will be right there, just like a butterfly landing on your shoulder.
Write It Down
It is a good policy always to have a notepad handy so that you can jot down these answers and ideas and insights at any moment, rather than forgetting them, as often happens. When you get that breakthrough illumination, be sure to write it down quickly. One good idea can often save you years of hard work. One good idea can be all you need to start a fortune.
Take Action
Finally, whatever the idea, take action on it immediately. Don’t hesitate. Very often, the ideas that come to you are “time dated.” If you take action immediately, wonderful things can happen. But if you wait to take action for a few hours or a few days, you can often miss the moment. Don’t let that happen to you.
ACTION EXERCISES
1. Take any problem or goal that you have and put it into “Google keywords.” Download all the articles and blogs that have been written about your particular problem or goal and review them carefully. You may be astonished at what other people have already found and what other people are already doing.
2. When you are clear about your problem or goal, ask around and look for others who may have already solved this problem in their own lives or work. Ask others if they might know someone who might know something about the problem you are working on. You may be astonished at how quickly you find exactly the right person to speak to.