Problem-Solving Success Tip: Use Your Time for Problems that are Truly ImportantLearn Management Articles on management-info.biz. Problem-Solving Success Tip: Use Your Time for Problems that are Truly Important article will help answer your questions on Management Articles.We at management-info.biz specialize in Management Articles. Management Articles at management-info.biz provides the most up to date news and articles. If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
Hard as it may be to walk away once you're aware of it, just because a problem is there doesn't mean you have to solve it. Ask yourself and your colleagues, 'What will happen if we don't solve this problem?' If the answer is, 'not much,' then turn your attention to something more important. If you don't know what will happen, find out before you undertake a problem-solving project. It should be clear to you and everyone else involved that the problem is worth the effort--and expense--to fix it. Quantify the cost of the problem quickly, but as realistically as you can. Include lost opportunity costs as well as real expenses such as staff time to deal with the problem, travel expenses, etc. Use actual costs where you can; estimate where you can't. Then guesstimate what it will cost to analyze and fix it. Write your analysis down, stating all your assumptions explicitly. Get a colleague to verify that your assumptions and estimates are reasonable. Start with a rough 'order of magnitude' estimate. That may be enough to answer the question of whether you should proceed. If it's not clear, especially if the cost to solve it will be high, do a more careful analysis. If it will cost more to fix than to live with the problem, or if the number is even close, perhaps your resources (time, people, money) are better spent on other projects. If you decide to proceed anyway, you can do so with a better understanding of what you're undertaking. On the other hand, if you can demonstrate that the cost of the problem is much higher than the cost of solving it, using estimates based on reasonable assumptions, it will generally be much easier to get the resources you need. You can use your written analysis as a sales tool to help win support for your decision to proceed or not. We have to learn to distinguish those things that are truly important from those that are merely urgent. --Jerry D. Campbell
copyright 2005. Jeanne Sawyer. All Rights Reserved. |
More Articles:1. What Makes a Good Appraisal Interview? By Andrew E. Schwartz WHAT MAKES A GOOD APPRAISAL INTERVIEW?Here is a tip for supervisors that will contribute to a successful appraisal interview. Give advance notice. Employees like to have advance notice of the appraisal session so that they can think about the past evaluation period from their own perspective. The prepared employee may have any number of things to share about management, the department, or organization, or barriers to their effectiveness. Also, the employee who comes to the session with a list … 2. Five Steps to Better Employee Management Hiring employees is a huge responsibility. Before hiring anyone, be sure to carefully analyze your needs in terms of extra assistance. Once you’ve gotten through the hiring process, there’s still much more you must do now that you’ve become an employer. If you’re like most small business owners, you just don’t have time to do all you’re supposed to be doing when it comes to managing your employees. The article aims to outline five steps you can take right now to better manage your employees. Fai… 3. Effective Coaching Releases Employee Discretionary Energy By Rick Johnson Discretionary EnergyWhat is discretionary energy? Discretionary energy is the energy an employee uses when going above and beyond the call of duty to complete a task or get the job done. Every employee has discretionary energy. The amount of energy released and employed at work depends on their attitude, how well they enjoy being at work, how they are treated and how they feel about the company.Discretionary energy can be the difference between doing what is expected and performing in an outst… 4. 10 Ways To Maintain Profits In A Slow Economy By Larry Dotson 1. Sell more back end products to your existing customer base. You already created rapport, trust and proved your credibility to them.2. Make it a practice to up sell to new and existing customers. After they decide to buy one product, offer them another product.3. Cross promote your products and services with other businesses that aren't competition. You will reach a wider audience at less cost.4. Create joint venture deals with other businesses. You can expand your product line and target ot… |
||||
