doug smith training

When you are working on solving a problem, how long do you search for a solution? How about for the cause? Would it surprise you to know that most people stop their search too soon? Our need to find the cause of a problem can cause us to stop the search too soon. We reach for an incomplete or uninformed solution and then -- the problem persists. Problems resist lazy answers. Sometimes the answer to timing the search is to keep on searching. -- doug smith  

Change, while necessary, can also provoke fear. Solving problems requires change.  Given a choice, it's easy to shy away from the fear of change. We hold onto our problems when change causes fear. Stay centered, manage those emotions, and reach for courage instead of fear. What if you DID solve that problem by changing the process, the situation, or the interpersonal dynamics? You can. Fear might just be the excitement you feel from the shift of the solution. -- doug smith 

Some of us like to analyze. Some of us like to act and let someone else analyze. Solving problems takes a balance. The most brilliant analysis producing the most wonderful ideas is all useless until someone acts. Some problems encourage eternal analysis, but that does not mean that eternal analysis is best. Some analysis is best accomplished with action. Think carefully, of course. Act boldly, also of course. -- doug smith 

  As a recovering perfectionist, I've tried to make peace with temporary solutions. I do still want everything to be perfect (and to STAY that way) while also learning that even my best ideas are transitional at best. Things will change. I will change. You will change. Our ideas and solutions will also need to change. If we can stop thinking that solutions are final our problems won't seem so troubling. Because whatever we don't solve NOW can still be solved later.  What do you think? -- doug smith

The first cause you find to a problem is probably not the last cause or even the main cause. Keep digging. -- doug smith  

Have you thought about how many stories you add to your life? We are so interested in understanding the meaning of everything that if we can't easily find the meaning we simply make it up. We tell stories to explain what we believe, even if what we believe has zero evidence or proof. Ordinarily, that's annoying. When dealing with a problem, that's a disaster in motion. Things we do to expand that story include ascribing motives to people we believe are responsible. They include interpreting words and actions as malicious, when maybe they were simply capricious. They include telling tales of woe and victimhood that do not lead to sensible solutions. It's another problem within a problem. But we can choose. Be careful about adding a story to a problem that only makes the problem worse. You don't want to make the problem worse, do you? You want to solve it. If your story is not leading to a positive outcome, maybe just maybe the story is wrong. -- doug smith

Problems have a way of recalibrating our expectations. -- doug smith

Does it feel like you're collecting problems? One thing leads to another and before you can resolve one issue another pops up?  It's like being in the middle of a movie when you just keep falling deeper into one hole or trap after another. There is usually more than one solution to any problem. If it feels like you're just collecting problems, try collecting solutions instead. You can't have too many solutions, so be generous with your generating. -- doug smith  

How flexible is your perspective? There is value in seeking a different point of view, especially in setting goals and in solving problems. Any way we ever look at anything is always a limited view. That's a broad (and possibly inaccurate) statement and yet what if it's true? Or, as my alternate perspective might state, what about it is true? Or even, what about it could be true? Sometimes we hold our problems too close to see what's causing them. Shifting the perspective opens up new vistas. That might be all we need to see the best possible solution. -- doug smith  

The root cause of a problem may be deeper than you think, with roots of its own. Look closely. Look very closely. -- doug smith  

A solution posed too soon might just be another version of the problem. It's tempting to rush thru analysis. Tempting, but costly. Few problems are solved until they are truly understood. -- doug smith  

The project team is stuck. Answers are not only hard to find, they seem impossible. The problem keeps causing mistakes and creating barriers. Within robust conversations we discover that although far from perfect, the process with the problem offers plenty of opportunity. Something small and almost unnoticeable turns out to be useful.  Within every problem is something that is working. What if that contains the secret to success? -- doug smith

What if problem solving is mostly opportunity surfing? Plunge in, it's time to begin, that problem will not solve itself. -- doug smith 

  What's the longest amount of time you've ever spent trying to solve an unsolvable problem? It could be weeks. It could be months. Maybe even longer. When it has happened to me and I discovered that what I was dealing with was a problem that had to be managed, not solved, I was both furious and relieved. Furious at the time wasted, but relieved because I could stop wasting time on it. It's also possible that while we might conjure up a solution to a problem that is causing us fits we could also discover that the problem doesn't even require a solution. It is, in fact, a situation with differences of opinion. Not a problem, but a conflict. Not every conflict can be resolved, but those that can behave differently than problems. There are differences in the perspective. Differences of opinion among the stakeholders. Different ideas of what an ideal solution should look like. What if the problem doesn't need a solution? What if it needs something else? Unthinkable? Onl

You may not have found the solution yet but you're way ahead of anyone who's stopped looking. -- doug smith

  Have you ever acted quickly in an urgent situation, because it was urgent, only to later discover there was a better choice? High performance leaders do need a sense of urgency. They also need a clear view and careful analysis before acting recklessly. Time provides perspective that urgency can not. Take a breath. Take some time. Make your best call. -- doug smith

Is there a problem on your mind? Has it been bothering you lately? If you're thinking about a problem why not think about solving that problem? It might not be easy. It will be worthwhile. -- doug smith  

  Intractable problems bother me. Knowing that a problem is beyond my control or influence is frustrating. If the best that we can do is manage with the problem, then manage we must but we won't necessarily enjoy it. Isn't it still worth exploring the possibilities? Maybe we CAN nudge that problem enough to loosen it from its mooring and start a new situation. What if tough problems aren't fixed but instead moved? What if the solution is in the motion? Let's get moving! -- doug smith

  That problem might be one possibility away from being solved -- but it might take many possibilities to find that one. -- doug smith

  Problems are not usually fun. It may sound funny to say that they could be. But, what if they could be fun? I don't know how to solve every problem but there is fun in the learning. Don't ask me why, just give it a try... -- doug smith