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Approaches to solving problems
Feb. 17th, 2022 09:15 amI have been having some interesting conversations recently. My approach when a problem is identified is to move quickly to considering fixes to the problem. In part this is driven by not wanting to go to my boss and hand them a problem without at least offering a solution. (If I *don't* solve problems, what do they need me for?)
The other part is that looking at potential solutions frequently tells one how important the problem is. If the fix for moving the kitchen sink a foot to the left is to rebuild the entire house, well, maybe I can live with the sink where it is.
Where this gets interesting is that I've been talking to somebody who very much wants to first get everybody to agree that a problem exists before we have potential solutions. Again, this is not the way my mind works. It just feels off to me, because the first question to be asked after we get agreement that we have a problem is "what do we do about it?" It also feels off because if the problem looks too big to tackle, it can be easy to decide to ignore it. (See "kitchen sink" above.)
The other part is that looking at potential solutions frequently tells one how important the problem is. If the fix for moving the kitchen sink a foot to the left is to rebuild the entire house, well, maybe I can live with the sink where it is.
Where this gets interesting is that I've been talking to somebody who very much wants to first get everybody to agree that a problem exists before we have potential solutions. Again, this is not the way my mind works. It just feels off to me, because the first question to be asked after we get agreement that we have a problem is "what do we do about it?" It also feels off because if the problem looks too big to tackle, it can be easy to decide to ignore it. (See "kitchen sink" above.)
