What the key resources leaders can use for problem solving?

Team with different skillsets!!

We cannot solve problems by using the same kind of thinking that created them" A.EINSTEIN

1. Learn the art of quality decision making

2. Get to know idea generation & creative solutions techniques

3. Acquire practical decision making tools

4. Understand a structured process in problem solving for effective decision making

5. Learn how to communicate your decisions & build an action plan to implement ideas

listening skills,analytical skills,investigative skills,leading and directing skills,and communication skills

Problem solving is an essential skill for the strategy consultant. Without good problem solving skills, it is impossible to perform well as a consultant. Six steps make up the problem solving process:  Defining, Identifying, Understanding, Generating Solutions, Analyzing, Choosing.

1-   Define the Problem – Before solving a problem, it is important to define the problem.  In defining the problem, there are a few different tools to help you do this:

Five Whys of Analysis are useful for getting to the core of a problem. Ask the question “why” until you get to the root cause of a problem.  For example, if a product were not selling, you would ask “why” until you get to the core reason the product does not sell.

Cause and Effect Analysis involves drawing a diagram that looks very much like a fishbone. This lets you see at a glance what the involved causes to a problem are.

Drill Down breaks down complex problems into their component parts.   You write the problem down.  Then, you will write the next level of detailed factors contributing to the problem. For each point, you will repeat the process until you reach an understanding of all factors contributing to the problem.

2-   Identify what qualifies as success in solving the problem – After you have defined the problem and narrowed it down to its root cause, you must determine what “solving the problem” means. The tool used for identifying success is Critical Success Factors (CSF) analysis. Critical success factors are the essential activity areas that must occur in order for a component of a project to be successful.

To determine your Critical Success Factors, you must first state your mission and your goal concerning solving the problem.  Once complete, this will determine the CSFs through asking, “What is essential to achieve this goal?” After coming up with a list of answers, narrow it down to those elements critical to the solution of the problem.  Before you can take these on, you will need first to identify metrics for each CSF and then communicate them to all team members.

3-   Understanding of the problem’s environment – Understanding the problem’s environment is crucial for understanding how the problem arose and how to solve the problem. While this process is sometimes intuitive for small problems, for larger problems, you may need a variety of tools including:

SWOT Analysis – SWOT Analysis (literally Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) is a simple yet powerful tool that will help you to focus on the situation.  By listing each of the items in these four categories for your problem, you can focus on strengths and seize opportunities while minimizing weaknesses and steering clear of threats.

Porter’s Five Forces – This is an analysis performed to determine where the power in a situation lies. The five forces analyzed are supplier power, customer power, threat of substitution, ease of new entry and competitive rivalry.

PEST Analysis – PEST Analysis (Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, and Technical) will determine the background against which the problem has occurred. 

Value Chain Analysis – Value chain analyses determines where value lies in solving your problem.  To do this analysis, first you will work to identify any activities undertaken to complete a project.  Then, you will analyze each activity to determine what value it adds for your customer.  Finally, you will determine whether changes should be made and plan to act upon these changes.

Flow Charts – By constructing a flow chart for a problematic process, you can identify the part in the process that causes the problem.

Swim Lane Diagrams – Swim Lane Diagrams allow you to map any interactions in processes – and find where the problem is being cause in terms of interchanges between departments and teams.

4-   Generate a list of solutions – Once you have defined the problem, understood the critical factors for success to the problem, and determined environmental factors contributing to the genesis of the problem, you can generate alternative solutions.  Brainstorming is a popular tool that focuses on throwing ideas onto the table without judging them. Closely related to this is Reverse Brainstorming.  This focuses upon how to cause the problem rather than how to solve the problem; the idea being that if you can cause the problem, you can then figure out from there how to solve the problem.

5-   Analyze risks involved, assumptions that have been hidden, and any unforeseen impacts of each potential solution – This is a vital part of problem solving; sometimes solving one problem creates another. Before acting on any of your potential solutions, test the ideas to determine what hides behind.  Tools helpful for this step in the problem solving process include:

Risk Analysis – A good risk analysis will follow the formula, risk = the probability of an event occurring multiplied by the cost of that event. Identify the different potential risks for your proposed solution then estimate the costs.  Finally, you will need to determine how these risks will be managed and formulate a plan.

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) – Performing an FMEA analysis involves identifying the different ways your solution may fail to fix the problem. 

Ladder of Influence – The ladder of influence helps you to check assumptions and ensure that any proposed solution is based on logic and sound data.

Impact Analysis – An impact analysis looks at possible consequences arising from a solution and it ensures that the change made will be positive.  It helps consultants to spot unintended consequences before they occur.

6-   Choose the best solution – After all the analysis, brainstorming, and breaking things down, it is time to choose the best solution.  Before you can make the decision, there are three different tools that can help you to make the right decision for the customer:

Cash Flow Forecasting – What is the expected financial impact from the proposed solution?

Cost/Benefit Analysis – What are the costs and benefits of each proposed solution?  Which one will be most worth the time and money involved?

Decision Tree Analysis – This is a structure for laying out the different proposed solutions and investigating possible outcomes.  It will help you effectively analyze the different risks and rewards associated with each of the options available.

Once you have chosen the best solution, draft a plan for putting it into effect, act on the plan, and carefully monitor progress towards the solution of the problem.

Team with different skillset and leader's ability to use those skills.

Experience, experts (internal or external) in the subject matter and related knowledge avialable through search engines on the Internet.

People that can make a difference! become part of the solution and not part of the problem.

In problem solving, there are four basic steps.

Diagnose the situation so that your focus is on the problem, not just its symptoms. Helpful techniques at this stage include using flowcharts to identify the expected steps of a process and cause-and-effect diagrams to define and analyze root causes.

The chart below identifies key steps for defining problems. These steps support the involvement of interested parties, the use of factual information, comparison of expectations to reality and a focus on root causes of a problem. What’s needed is to:

• Review and document how processes currently work (who does what, with what information, using what tools, communicating with what organizations and individuals, in what time frame, using what format, etc).
• Evaluate the possible impact of new tools and revised policies in the development of a model of “what should be.”

Postpone the selection of one solution until several alternatives have been proposed. Having a standard with which to compare the characteristics of the final solution is not the same as defining the desired result. A standard allows us to evaluate the different intended results offered by alternatives. When you try to build toward desired results, it’s very difficult to collect good information about the process.

Considering multiple alternatives can significantly enhance the value of your final solution. Once the team or individual has decided the “what should be” model, this target standard becomes the basis for developing a road map for investigating alternatives. Brainstorming and team problem-solving techniques are both useful tools in this stage of problem solving.

Many alternative solutions should be generated before evaluating any of them. A common mistake in problem solving is that alternatives are evaluated as they are proposed, so the first acceptable solution is chosen, even if it’s not the best fit. If we focus on trying to get the results we want, we miss the potential for learning something new that will allow for real improvement.

Skilled problem solvers use a series of considerations when selecting the best alternative. They consider the extent to which:

• A particular alternative will solve the problem without causing other unanticipated problems.
• All the individuals involved will accept the alternative.
• Implementation of the alternative is likely.
• The alternative fits within the organizational constraints.

Leaders may be called upon to order the solution to be implemented by others, “sell” the solution to others or facilitate the implementation by involving the efforts of others. The most effective approach, by far, has been to involve others in the implementation as a way of minimizing resistance to subsequent changes.

Feedback channels must be built into the implementation of the solution, to produce continuous monitoring and testing of actual events against expectations. Problem solving, and the techniques used to derive elucidation, can only be effective in an organization if the solution remains in place and is updated to respond to future changes.

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In a sample answer , Just Define , Then Plan to solve with the tools you have in order to make it solved and finished once and for all.

ONLY KARISMATIC LEADERS ARE DOMINATE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS , QUALITIES

PROBLEM SOLVING, TIMELY DECSIONS , LONG/SHORT  TERM APPROACH , AVAILABLE INFORMATIONS ETC