The 3 types of people in the office…
When it comes to solving problems, there are 3 types of people. And you’re one of them…
I want you to think about the people you work with or have worked with.
Colleagues, team members, bosses, suppliers, clients, and so on.
Now, I want you to identify the people who, whenever they had a problem they’d never solved before or didn’t know how to solve, however basic it was, would report the problem and then just stand there, arms folded, waiting for it to be fixed.
“Jorge, the printer won’t print!”
“Jorge, the computer won’t turn on!”
“Jorge, João said it wasn’t possible!”
“Jorge, where’s that document you sent me 2 weeks ago? I can’t find it.”
Did a few names come to mind?
I’ve got two or three (at least).
Frustrating, isn’t it?
Then you have people who, when a problem lands in front of them, immediately start coming up with solutions without thinking too much.
The solutions, most of the time, aren’t even the best ones. But their definition of success is marking the task as done. So it disappears from in front of them.
And that ends up creating a patchwork of things that are constantly breaking.
And the problem comes back again later.
Finally, you have people who, when they face a problem they’ve never solved or don’t know how to solve, find a way to come up with a solution.
They research, they experiment, they question the status quo.
At the end of the day, they come back with solid solutions.
And most of the time, you don’t even realise there was ever a problem.
Amazing, isn’t it?
(If you’re one of those people, you’re probably underestimating your ability to solve problems, but I want you to know that you’re part of a minority and you’re special for it 🤜🤛)
If we’re honest with ourselves, we’re all 3 types. Depending on the context we’re in.
But what makes a huge difference is the mindset we bring to the problems that land in front of us.
Which brings me to my next point…
We all have the ability to solve problems. And as we saw earlier, some have more willingness than others.
So what is it that determines the quality of the solution?
Why are some solutions so much better than others?
Why are some solutions patch-ups, and others transformative?
After thinking about it, I came to the following conclusion:
The biggest factor in the quality of the solution is the amount of resources you invest in working the problem.
“Working the problem? What do you mean?”
Exactly that: knowing a problem intimately produces (most of the time) higher quality solutions.
But if we’re honest, most of the time we’re premature and we jump straight to the solution.
A problem shows up in front of us, and bang, we come up with a solution straight away.
A team member brings us a problem and we hand them the solution.
When in truth, we should be encouraging that person to properly explore the problem and find two or three solutions.
“How do you work a problem?”
Working the problem is, first of all, questioning whether it really is a problem.
(One of the things I love most is solving pseudo-problems.
People think it’s a problem, but after a few questions, they realise it wasn’t a big deal after all.)
Second:
Observe, question and experiment, to understand 2 things:
- The roots of the problem (the reasons that make a problem actually a problem).
- Quantify the consequences of that problem.
That will let you fix things at the root and not at the surface.
If you think about it, that’s what therapists and psychologists do with their patients.
They ask questions to get to the root, so they can solve the problem there.
And then it’s like those dominoes falling, one after the other.
A practical example:
The other day, the office lost its internet connection.
They called the technicians and they couldn’t fix it.
Then they called me to complain about the technicians 😅.
“Let’s think about the problem.”
“First, connect to the provider’s router to see if it has internet.”
“It has internet? Yes? Great, so we do have internet.”
“Now the next device is the firewall, turn it off and on again.”
“Done? Now go to a computer and test whether we have internet on the network.”
“Ok, everyone has internet. Problem solved.”
“Now, write down this process we just went through, so if it happens again, you already know what to do. One note: if you connect to the provider’s router and we don’t have internet, then the problem is with the provider, and they’re the ones you should call.”
(Since this problem has been recurring, and after more testing, what we’re going to do is replace the old device with a new one. Because the procedure I defined with the team only solves the symptom, not the problem.)
(Yes, I have a whole geeky side that likes messing with hardware 😂)
To finish, next time you face a problem, do this:
- Resist the temptation to jump straight to the solution: Take a step back and spend time understanding the problem before you act.
- Question the true nature of the problem: Ask whether what you’re facing is really a problem or just a wrong perception. Identify the roots of the problem.
- Experiment and adjust: Test solutions step by step, on a small scale. Learn from the results and adjust as needed to solve the problem effectively.
🤙
Jorge