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. Applying Lean Six Sigma to Service By Peter Peterka Although both Six Sigma and Lean Flow have their roots in manufacturing, it works just as effectively in service industries. Much of the U.S. economy is now based on services rather than manufacturing and many service organization managers are wondering how they can achieve the tremendous process improvement benefits of Lean Six Sigma to their service organization. Many service organizations have already begun to blend the higher quality of Six Sigma with the efficiency of Lean into Lean Six S… 2. Five Habits of Highly Effective Conflict Resolvers By Dina Beach Lynch, Esq. Steven Covey had the right idea. There are discreet skills and attitudes, habits if you will, that can elevate your conflict practice to a new level. This article shares a selection of habits and attitudes that can transform a good conflict resolver into a highly effective one. By that I mean someone who facilitates productive, meaningful discussion between others that results in deeper self-awareness, mutual understanding and workable solutions.I have used the term ‘conflict resolve… 3. We Found a Rock Star! Hiring the Best of the Best By Lonnie Pacelli Colleagues, I feel your pain on this issue.Scenario #1: You've got a critical position that needs to be filled by a qualified candidate, and quick. For every day the position doesn't get filled, your in-box fills up a bit more with work to be done because your unfilled position hasn't been staffed. You see tons of resumes and have interviewed scores of candidates, but the rock star you're looking for isn't emerging. You refuse to "settle" for a mediocre candidate, but the work is piling up and… 4. Lawyers With 2 Hands And Everything Else By James NK Khoo I heard this back a few years ago. The boss yelled, "Get me a good lawyer but not the one with two hands!""Huh?" secretary was puzzled.Boss continued "...I mean don't give me a lawyer that says 'on one hand, we should do....and this. On the other hand..we do..'".It is not difficult to fathom what's good professional service (and bad service of course). Just switch roles.When we as clients, walk out of the lawyers office why should we be feeling indecisive thinking "should I do this, or this, o… |
||||
