A logical approach to problem solving

The starting point is to understand the scale of the problem so that you can decide how urgently a solution is needed.

Ask questions such as:

• What is the immediate difficulty?
  
• Who/what is affected?
  
• Can the business continue until a strategic solution is found or is a 'quick fix' necessary?
  
• What is the cost of doing nothing?

Next understand the underlying causes. Without this any solution will only be tactical and temporary.

Ask questions such as:

• For how long has this been a problem?
  
• How have we survived until now?
  
• What were the reasons for adopting the processes/behaviour that have now caused the problem?
  
• Are those reasons still relevant?

You may need to repeat the questioning about underlying causes several times as each layer of difficulty is peeled away. Bear in mind that there may have been very good reasons for the initial decisions and be careful to check that they are no longer relevant at each stage.

Now identify the available options.

Ask questions such as:

• What is the ideal solution?
  
• Are there foreseeable difficulties? How can these be overcome?
  
• Are there any 'knock on effects' that we need to consider?
  
• What other options are available?
  
• Is the time scale for implementation acceptable?
  
• What is the full cost of implementing it?
  
• Will the proposed solution prevent a repeat of the problem?
  
• How long will this solution remain effective?

Be sure that you gather facts from those who are actually engaged in the part of the organisation where the problem arose. Sometimes managers assume that processes and decisions have been made 'by the book' when the people 'at the sharp end' are operating on the basis of handed down wisdom - which can be quite different!

Finally, take care to allocate the responsibility for remedial action and communication clearly, unambiguously and in a fixed time scale.

If you have a problem that you think would benefit from an independent analysis then please contact us.