How to Solve Problems More Effectively
Posted March 20th, 2017
One of the top skills all employers look for is the ability to solve problems. For some jobs, it is the most important skill.
Why do some people have trouble solving problems? There might be several reasons. One could be that they are mistaking a symptom of a problem for the cause itself. Or they simply rely on their intuition in determining the cause, rather than examining the problem more closely and thinking things through.
Here are some things to keep in mind when attempting to solve problems.
1. Find the actual cause
Getting at the cause of a problem is not always as easy as you think. One technique to identify the cause is to keep asking the question “why?” For example, you have a problem A. Your first step is to ask why do you have this problem. This will lead you to cause B. But then, instead of stopping there, continue asking why. Some business experts recommend going through the process at least five times.
For example, your problem may be that sales are down. Asking why, you determine that the cause is not enough salespeople. Asking why again, you determine the cause to be that you are not recruiting effectively. Asking why not, you determine the cause to be that the hiring process is taking too long. Asking why again, you determine that there is a bottleneck in a particular department, where managers are not cooperating as well as they should.
So, you find the root cause in this case to lie with a particular department of the company, something you might not have discovered if you had stopped asking why earlier.
2. Coming up with options
After you have identified the cause of the problem, the next step is coming up with a solution. But the best way to do this is not simply to generate one or two ideas and work on those, but to spend some time brainstorming a range of options to solve the problem. This way, you give yourself the opportunity to find what works best. You can put your creativity to work in finding the best options.
3. Choosing the best option
How do you do this? There may be one that simply stands out above all the rest and is self-evidently superior. However, if none of the options is clearly superior to the others, the best way of evaluating them is to list the pros and cons of each option and then do a cost-benefit analysis.
This way, you can limit your innate bias toward any particular choice.
4. Putting your solution into effect
After you have chosen which solution to use, you need to implement it. Naturally, it may not work perfectly, or even as well has you might have hoped. So, you need to continually evaluate your solution and make ongoing corrections and adjustments.
If you are looking for employment in a technology-related field in the San Francisco Bay area, Bayside Solutions has the knowledge, experience and connections to find the right job for you. We specialize in technology careers, and have an impressive track record of placing people. Give Bayside Solutions a call today.
