INOVATION

Four Steps To Avoid Rushing to Solutions When Problem-Solving

Albert Einstein reportedly said that if he had an hour to solve a problem, he’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions. But Einstein wasn’t trying to run a company in the midst of a pandemic, when most of us are working longer hours and making new decisions each day on issues from childcare to employee safety. Between our cognitive biases and our finite capacity for decision making, when our mental gas tank runs low on fuel, we tend to conserve energy by either avoiding decisions or rushing to solutions before we have a chance to fully understand the problem we’re grappling with.

It’s understandable that we leap to solutions. Crossing items of one’s to-do list and fixing problems provides a dopamine surge that is comforting, especially when the world around us feels more volatile and threatening. Nevertheless, an ineffective Band-Aid solution can make things worse, and can be just as damaging in the long run as the problem it’s trying to solve. In my work as a leadership consultant, I’ve devised a simple, five-step process that can help you get past the urge to rush to solutions.

1. Problem Analysis

A Problem Analysis investigates a situation/problem in order to allow the researcher to understand more fully the problem, in order to recommend practical solutions for solving it.

In addition, a Problem Analysis determines the degree of the problem and if the problem is a genuinely related to the specific site under investigated. For example, a workplace can request that a study be

conducted to estimate the cost and time involved in installing a new lighting system because a number of employees have filed insurance claims because of eye problems. Before investigating the cost of lighting, a problem analysis would determine the degree that the lighting is affecting employees or if the lighting is not actually the problem. It may be that, after reviewing records, the eye problems are isolated to workers in one particular shop. In this case, the problem analysis study would recommend solutions related to this particular area.

However, it could also be determined, after further investigation focused on interviewing the workers in the shops, that the lighting was not the cause of the problem. Instead, the interviews determined that the workers were staying up all night studying for classes that they were taking. Thus, the problem analysis would report that the lighting was not the cause of the problem, saving the company time and money. (This may be the case when you investigate your problem. However, if it is, you will need to choose another problem in order to complete the research portion of this class.)

2. Frame Your Problem Properly

Problem statements are deceptively difficult to get right for several reasons. For one, it’s easy to mistake the symptoms for the underlying problem. For example, you might assume that to help a child in Flint, Michigan who has behavioural issues in school and struggle with reading comprehension, you need to focus on those problems. But those are only symptoms. The real problem is lead in the municipal water system.

A well-framed problem statement opens up avenues of discussion and options. A bad problem statement closes down alternatives and quickly sends you into a cul-de-sac of facile thinking.

Consider these two problem statements:

1. Our hospital needs more ventilators.
2. Our hospital needs more ventilator availability.

Notice that the first statement isn’t really a problem at all. It’s a solution. The only possible response to needing more ventilators is … to buy more ventilators. What’s the solution to the second problem statement? It’s unclear — which is a good thing, because it pushes us to think more deeply. Avoiding the implicit judgment (we need more machines) raises questions that help us develop better solutions: How many machines are currently being repaired? Are we doing enough preventative maintenance to keep all of them operable? Do we know where all of the ventilators are, or do nurses keep some of them in “hidden stashes” (a real problem at most hospitals). What’s the turnaround time to move a ventilator from one patient to the next? Do other local hospitals have excess capacity, and is it possible to share with them?

If you see that your problem statement has only one solution, rethink it. Begin with observable facts, not opinions, judgments, or interpretations.

3.Inversion thinking

Sometimes when there is too much clutter, there is no clear thinking. Like in designing, where we need to value the negative space, we need to pay attention to negative space in thoughts as well.

Inversion thinking is not setting up a goal and thinking backwards on how to achieve the goal.

Tell me where I’m going to die, that is, so I don’t go there.

-CHARLIE MUNGER

Inversion thinking is different .In inversion thinking you actually turn the situation upside down and completely reverse the equation. Like in forward thinking, you think about how you will succeed, in inversion thinking, you think how you will fail. It is similar to the negative space in any design.

Inversion thinking is when you use the negative space as the design focus, reverse the focus from what you want to attain to what you do not want to attain.

In a crude way, if I ask how one can get infected with COVID-19? The answer would be by not wearing a mask, mixing around in a large, unknown crowd, by not following social distancing, etc. Somehow, this question has greater power to nudge people who avoid masks than making a simple request to wear the mask. Asking this question is inverting the problem.

By inverting the problem, you outline the results you do not want. This helps you plan your process to avoid those unwanted results.

How and when to practice inversion thinking

In situations of complex problems or uncertain situations, one can invert the problem and start from the end instead of starting from the beginning.

Tip 1: Saying no is a step towards inversion thinking

Sometimes we do things we do not want to and regret later. Taking too many things on the plate is an example of creating clutter, whether in work life or personal life. Just a no, a simple refusal to do another work or another social gathering helps in removing the clutter. A no is similar to the negative space in a design. It always exists with a yes, like the positive space always exists with the negative space. We just have to learn to focus on that.

Tip 2: Many times avoiding stupidity is a better option than trying to be smart and brilliant

“It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.” — Charlie Munger

Inversion thinking helps one avoid being stupid. and keeping quiet would have been a wise step. Inversion thinking also has the ability to make you hold two opposite point of views. These opposing views firm up your decision in the best direction. For example, if you invest in a company you are in love with, you should practice inverting your decision. How will the business, say a biscuit company, will have the lowest market share? By not focussing on distribution, by not marketing the products and by not having a sales team. If you can evaluate your investment decisions based on these parameters, you just practiced inversion thinking.

Inversion thinking is an asset. All that we need to remember is “tell me where am I going to die, so I will not go there.”

4.Reaserch

The research section opens with a brief introduction to the internal investigation of detailed areas of research. The introduction must reference all areas of detailed research, in the exact order that they are discussed in the detailed section. One area of the investigation must be employee interviews. Other areas may include items such as reviewing company records, investigating supply rooms, or conducting site investigations.

Asking “why” repeatedly before you settle on an answer is a powerful way to avoid jumping to conclusions or implementing weak solutions. Whether you ask five times, or three, or as many as 11, eventually you’ll get to the root cause, as each question pushes you to a deeper understanding of the real problem. Finding the root cause ensures that you have a durable solution, not a Band-Aid that treats the symptoms. For example, asking, “Why aren’t our employees wearing the mandated PPE all the time?” might reveal that you don’t have enough PPE in stock, because of a holdup in purchasing. The obvious — and ineffective — solution would be to send a stern memo to the purchasing department instructing them to expedite shipments. But a deeper inquiry with further “whys” would reveal that suppliers weren’t delivering on time because the accounting team was stretching out payments in order to conserve cash. . . at the direction of the CEO.

Conclusion

For every complex problem, there is a solution that is clear, simple, and wrong. These four steps don’t actually guarantee a solution. But they will provide you with a more clearly defined problem. And although that’s less immediately gratifying, it’s a necessary step to finding something that really works.