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. Are you NICE or do you CARE? By David Meyer Are you NICE or do you CARE? Most people and most managers want to be nice. After all, it's easier to be nice than to not be nice. But when we talk about being a manager, there is a difference between being nice and being NICE. A NICE manager can be pleasant to be around. They're friendly and helpful and avoid even the most remote semblance to confrontation. How do you spot a NICE Manager? When someone brings them a problem, a NICE manager provides them with a solution. When a report is lat… 2. Manufacturing Capacity as a Commodity By Lance Winslow Excess capacity in an automobile plant at Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, GM, and Honda is a commodity and those who study finite capacity scheduling modules can readily see the possibilities for increased production and that means profit. Einstein said time is relative, that is true, time is relative, manipulating commodity theoretical models allows companies to see thru time and keep costs and purchases on an even keel without the problems of relative time. Thus the commodity can be simplified to pr… 3. Delegating Responsibility By Andrew E. Schwartz Too many managers waste both time and energy performing tasks an employee could perform just as well, thereby lowering productivity while raising operating costs. The answer to the problem is easy—delegation. However, many managers still limit their own effectiveness, create imbalances in the organization, waste their department’s time and energies, and fail to develop their subordinates by either ignoring or mismanaging the techniques of delegation.Why? Delegating responsibility insures that … 4. 7 Steps to Launching a Top Media Relations Program 7 Steps to Launching a Top Media Relations ProgramNewspapers need to fill real estate in the form of column inches, and you need media coverage. If handled correctly, 'this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.'A top-notch media relations program is essential for every business and organization. Most, however, never even bother to try launching a successful medial relations program.You would not believe how often reporters find themselves at a loss for content. In fact, many newspap… |
||||
