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. Middle-Aged Managers, the Forgotten Digital Divide By Mary Carroll The digital divide is defined by the role computers play within widening social gaps in our society, as the condition of one group having an advantage over another group in regard to computers, technology skills and Internet access.This is usually thought of as being a divide between the white middle class and minority communities; but there is another often overlooked class of nonusers, the middle-aged corporate manager. As computer skills play an increasingly important role in building caree… 2. The Challenge Of Retention By Amir Shahzad I being employer believe that our real assets/customers are our employees. It means, if our employees are satisfied they will automatically be loyal to the company, which ultimately leads to growth and development of the company.Meeting the demands of today’s changing environment requires building and retaining satisfied, loyal, and motivated staff. In this competitive work environment, workers are no longer inclined to stay at one position or in one company for the entire duration of their ca… 3. Top 5 Services Your Company’s Accounting Department Should Outsource By Vinodh Pushparaj Accounting is one area which every company has to maintain but mostly not part of their core business. It is also one of the areas that keep changing every year and the company has to aggressively keep up with the changes in the tax code. This includes managing your books till you finish up with paying taxes. For a company to survive in an environment where mistakes are costly and dependent on how well they can play the accounting game correctly, they should have an outstanding accounting depa… 4. Biometrics and ”Return On Investment” By Terrence F. Doheny At this time of tight budgets, the mantra of business is “Return On Investment!” With few exceptions, expenditures are measured against the bottom line. Outlays for capital expenses are strictly evaluated in terms of profitability and the total cost of ownership. The era of purchasing new gadgets due to their “whiz-bang” factor is long gone. How can biometrics provide the sought after “R.O.I.” in this environment?A biometric hand reader prevents a felon from entering your office or warehouse. … |
||||
