Problem Solving

There is a practice that takes place every day in companies around the nation and I hate. You should too, especially if you are a manager. In my position it happens time to time and I imagine the higher you go the more it has the possibility of happening. Do you ever have someone come into your office or email you about a problem they have noticed? I do. I don’t mind that, even if it’s a mistake that I made that needs to be corrected. I’m not perfect and I don’t expect others to be. However I hate when it is presented to me like this “The price for this product in XYZ location is wrong”. Some of you may be asking yourself what is wrong with that some of you may be saying to yourself yup that’s what I do.

Let me explain what my problem is with this and why you should have a problem with it too. I will not go into too many specifics about when I run into this so it was stay general to the role you may be in. I’m not sure where I was or who said it but they told me “Remember, when you bring up a problem also bring up a solution.” Too often people in the corporate world, managers especially, get problems dumped on them. People will say here’s the problem but they won’t say why it’s a problem or how it should be.

In my example above “The price for this product in XYZ location is wrong”. Ok that’s great, it’s good to know that’s it’s incorrect but why is it incorrect. What should it be and what’s the proof to back it up? It will take me twice as long to pick this problem out, decipher it, and then find out the solution. I may even misinterpret the information you give me and waste my time chasing ghosts.

How could this be done better? Say the price for ABC product in XYZ location is wrong based on this spreadsheet. The price is currently $x.xx but it should be $y.yy. Perfect, I know what the problem is I know what it should be changed to and if the information you have is incorrect I at least know where you are getting it from so I can correct you.

This is obviously a small and simple problem compared to many other potential examples. The principle should stay the same. Don’t dump a problem on someone regardless if they are a above you or below you in the company. Present the problem, present a possible solution or more if needed and maybe even assist them in fixing it.

I assure you this will get you further. If you are a manager delegating, it will help you employees feel valued and not like one of you minions but a meaningful piece of the problem solving puzzle. If you are raising the issue to a level above you it will help them do their job and not over load their already full plate. For me, if someone gives me a problem and a solution I will typically take care of it right away but if they don’t and they just dump it then I will just dump it to the bottom of my to-do list.

Simple as that. Don’t bring a problem unless you have a solution or suggestion.