Anyone spending time at the top of the tree in business knows its not a matter of if a problem will occur, but when. In fact, to succeed in business is, in a sense, to be able to deal with problems in an effective way. Of course, this is quite the skill, and it can take a lot of refining before you are as effective as you would like. Fortunately, you can find some insightful advice on the topic of problem-solving in business below.
Define the problem clearly.
You cannot solve the problem, without truly knowing what it is. What that means is it is vital to define the issue clearly. To that end, be sure to consider all facets of the issues. Such as the risks involved, the context of the situation, and what factors are working together to cause it.
Of course, those in higher positions will often have people to do the research into such issues for them. Although, do bear in mind that a cursory glance over a specific topic will not do here. Instead, you must be briefed thoroughly and grasp the full magnitude of the situation at hand. If you are to move onto the next stage of coming up with solutions.
Listen to solutions.
The thing about solutions is, in the first stages, it really pays off to gather up as many suggestions from as many areas as possible. In fact, rather than limiting your input to the boardroom, there are three other groups of people that can provide you with valuable insights.
The first of these are your employees. The ones that directly interact with the problem rather than those in management positions. In fact, this group can provide you with insight you may miss by neglecting to talk to them.
The second group is your customers and those you serve. After all, your primary aim will be to please them, and therefore you will need to know how the problem at hand is affecting their experiences.
Finally, the last group of people you should consult for solutions are those that like Daclan Kelly over at Tenco that have experience in the field of professional problem-solving. In fact, if you can work with someone that offers a holistic approach to business problems, you’ll be rewarded with solutions that are as elegant as they are effective.
Decide on a solution and delegate responsibility.
The final stage is to decide on this most appropriate solution. Something that you may choose to employ a risk – benefits analysis to do. Then all that’s left is to put into practice. Something that means delegating the responsibility for the solution to the correct department or person in your company.
In fact, many higher-level managers forget that once they have done the hard slog of finding an appropriate solution, it is viable to delegate the work to others. Something that then frees them up to focus on the other issues and problems that will most affect their business’s bottom line.
