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. Leadership W/O Communication is Like a Gun Without a Bullet-- Imppressive but It Can't Do Anything By Rick Johnson Next to people, communication is the most critical element to success whether you are in a growth mode or you are facing difficult economic times. However, when times are tough, failure to communicate has much greater consequences. Failure to communicate could accelerate failure . Communication is essential to developing trust. Trust is necessary to get people to reach down deep inside and give everything they have under the most difficult circumstances.Colin Powell stated in an interview that… 2. Regaining Control - Nine Steps for New Managers By Martin Haworth My client had faced the same challenge, which was frustrating as well as intimidating for him as well - yet he was determined to break the mould.With my background in a similar business, I have faced this several times.In fact there was almost always an underlying individual who seemed to 'run the place', in spite of there being a manager before me! The challenge was to wrest control back and manage myself. And deliver the results which had been missing on every occasion.Over time, I found a d… 3. Project Management, A Forgotten Perspective By Jeff Klem Effective project managers know how to get the job done, and get it done right. Success comes not only from wise selection of the team members and utilization of the best project management software tools; effective managers know how to lead, and how to encourage project team members to do their best. This includes clearly setting and communicating project goals, providing proper training and/or equipment, as well as other necessary items and expertise. Effective project management also requir… 4. Giving Effective Feedback By Barb McEwen If there is one area that gives both managers and employees difficulty it is the need to give and accept effective feedback. It is one of the most crucial elements in assisting employees to improve their performance. It establishes a connection between what employees are doing and how their actions are perceived by others. Although receiving feedback is often under appreciated, those on the receiving end must occasionally be reminded that no feedback could be much worse.Most managers consider … |
||||
