Management Information |
Solve Problems Permanently - Ask WHY
As Albert Einstein said:- "The significant problems we face today, cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." Problems don't go away unless you get to the cause - the source of them. Repeatedly 'fixing' issues that arise takes a physical and mental toll on you and your team. The key is to solve problems once and for all and move on. Picture this scenario:- Luke runs a small engineering factory, making electronic tagging systems for retailers. His business has really taken off in the last two years and his people are really stretched now to keep up with demand. Recently his people have been complaining more; there have been a number of unpleasant incidents where tempers have become frayed. Two large customers have taken Luke to task personally because of late fulfillment of orders. In the past Luke would have worked harder, fought his fires and got home late, but right at the moment his wife and family have started to complain that he is putting work before them more than ever. With two of his key people, he asked them to work with him quickly, on why they were having so many little issues arising in the business - and they would use the 'Whys' process to solve them. As an example, one actual issue that they discussed early on, went as follows:- "Our orders have started to go out late" Here you can see a whole new series of conversations evolving for Luke and his team. Instead of cursing everyone for late completion of orders, or their behaviours getting out of control, or all and everything else which seems to be going wrong, the discussion about rates causing there to be too few staff, has evolved into a more general issue about costs being too high. Here the process can start again:- "Our costs are too high" And from here, Luke and his team, using just 14 one-word questions, have a whole new perspective on their business and they are ready to create a whole raft of ideas and actions to move this problem to a solution - for the long term, not just the short-term. Sometimes, there is value in bringing in a facilitator to work with your team in this way, as a 'neutral' prepared to support the process on some of these challenging 'why's'. This lets you and your team tease out and own the end-point sources of problems. And share the successes of achieving the very best solutions together. In this example, there is a semi-strategic issue, but the technique can be used for much simpler issues which crop up day-to-day in your business. Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. Martin has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com/problem_solving.html(Note to editors. This article may be edited for use in your publication or newsletter as long as a live link to the website is included)
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
RELATED ARTICLES
Four Corners of a Triangle: Why Organizations Succeed or Fail When we want to hire people for a corporation or non profit organization, we follow certain rules and look for appropriate qualifications and expertise so that we succeed in our aims: the investors get their money's worth in form of financial success and enhanced prestige of the principals involved.An organization represents the interests of many people: the sponsors and the consumers. The Higher You Go The higher you go, the cooler it becomes. Really? Let us begin from first principles. Challenge of ERP Implementation: Q and A with Rick Maurer Question: ERPs seem like a good idea, so why is return on investment so low?Answer: Resistance often kills many of these new systems. Even though the promise of what an ERP can do is high, the planners often fail to look at how the users are likely to view this "improvement. Creativity and Innovation Management: The Value Of Due Diligence Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation. There are other useful definitions, for example, creativity can be measured according to the number of ideas produced, the diversity of those ideas and the novelty of those ideas. Keeping Meetings On Track We all have been in meetings with certain people who get our blood pressure to rise or just make us feel what a waste of time. Here are some of those people and hints on how you can maintain keep the meeting on track without coming across as a dictator or inept leader. Inventory Management 101 Inventory management may seem complicated to some, but if one truly thinks about what the words "inventory management" mean, it is a simple concept. Inventory is basically a list of goods and materials that are held by a business and are available in stock. How To Get What You Really Want As a small business owner, entrepreneur or independentprofessional, it's important to make plans. It's also important to have the time to let things happen. Business Innovation - Status Games Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. Marketing Miracle: Outsource Your Creative Services The current economy is causing most companies to tighten their belts. With limited staffing and a restricted budget, how do you continue to promote your business? The simple solution is the occasional or ongoing use of outside resources such as graphic designers, writers, webmasters, and other creative talent. Getting Your Employees Attention Back to Work It is 9:00 am on a Monday morning. Do you know where your employees' attention is? Is it on work?Picture this. Leadership Style: What Makes A Good Boss? In today's competitive environment, companies realize that a good boss is one who can identify and build on the talents of the staff and knows how to retain top performing employees. Take this quiz and see if you are a good boss. Five Steps to Increase the People Power in Your Business Take some bold steps and help your employees and business partners open up to real change and help them start thinking again to the longer term. Send a message that you are ready to commit to new ways of thinking and that that includes a commitment to the success of your employees in the changing workplace. Group Meeting Disrupters MEETING DISRUPTERS: If two participants are carrying on a personal discussion that interferes with a meeting, direct a clear and simple question to one of them. In order to avoid embarrassing them, address them by name before asking the question. Counseling Interviews for the Marginal Employee ACTIVE LISTENING: The most frequent cause of failure in therapeutic counseling interviews is the interviewer's tendency to talk too much. Numerous studies have shown that in counseling interviews the average manager will talk as much as 85 percent of the time. Why All Managers Are Alike Because, like you I suspect, they have key target audiences whose behaviors help or hinder them in achieving their organizational objectives.But even in their own best interests, too few involve themselves in their public relations effort to the degree they should. Diversity Training: The Worst Possible Reasons to Request Executive Funding You're on your organization's diversity committee. You have the best of intentions. A Checklist for Organized Executives I could begin this article by providing a checklist of organizing techniques for you to incorporate into your daily work routine. The goal would be to become and remain organized, improve your time management and reduce your stress while increasing your productivity. Management Coaching to Improve Relationships with Work Associates As a recent employee to your job, you are becoming familiar with the work environment and your work associates. You have met the boss on two occasions; your interview and one time when he or she demanded that you finish a client's report. More Computer Consulting 101 Hiring Tips (Part 2 of 2) Does your company need to retain the services of a competent computer consulting firm, but you have no idea how to really evaluate "competence"? In the first part of this two-part series on Computer Consulting 101 hiring tips, we looked at why small businesses find it so difficult to hire good computer consulting companies, as well as four basic questions that you must be addressed when searching for a new computer consulting vendor. Now in this second and final installment of this two part series on Computer Consulting 101 hiring tips, we'll look at how you can evaluate the true, often-confusing expenses of using a computer consulting company, as well as how to more thoroughly review the computer consulting company's professional credentials and experience. Why Free Agent Thinking Is Good For Your Company It's no secret! Day after day the news is riddled with companies who are moving operations to other countries or completely closing their doors. Those who remain must transform themselves to lean, mean, businesses with a constant eye on reducing costs. |
home | site map | contact us |