Problem-Solving Success Tip: Test Your Assumptions About Everything
Test your assumptions about everything.
Assumptions have a way of creeping into all parts of a problem-solving project. They're often wrong, which can lead to a lot of wasted effort and even cause a problem-solving project to fail entirely. It's very easy to take a strongly stated assertion as true, especially if it's the boss who makes it. Remind everyone involved to be skeptical and on the watch for untested assumptions.
Problem definition.
Check the facts first to be sure that you and your team understand the problem the same way, and that you have data to confirm that the problem is important. Testing assumptions about the problem definition could include interviewing participants, collecting measurements, creating flow charts of what really happened, etc.
Organizing your project.
Don't assume that the resources you need to solve the problem will automatically be available to you. Solving a messy problem is a project. Treat it that way by developing a project plan, obtaining sponsorship, getting commitment to participate from key players, etc.
Root Cause Analysis.
This is a favorite spot for untested assumptions to show up, especially if you use a root cause analysis method based on brainstorming. Once you've got a list of possible causes, be sure to collect data, devise tests or do whatever you have to verify which causes are real.
Choosing solutions.
Test assumptions about proposed solutions by answering the questions: "How likely is the approach to eliminate a root cause of this problem" and "How practical is this approach (do I have the resources to actually do it and can I achieve the solution in an appropriate amount of time)?"
Testing assumptions throughout the problem-solving process will greatly improve your chances of solving the right problem successfully.
There is nothing so deceptive as an apparent truth.
- Russell Ackoff
copyright 2005. Jeanne Sawyer. All Rights Reserved.
Jeanne Sawyer is an author, consultant, trainer and coach who helps her clients solve expensive, chronic problems, such as those that cause operational disruptions and cause customers to take their business elsewhere. These tips are excerpted from her book, When Stuff Happens: A Practical Guide to Solving Problems Permanently. Find out about it, and get more free information on problem solving at her web site: http://www.sawyerpartnership.com/.
 Google News Updated : Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:13:38 GMT Hillary Clinton's Staff Looking to Avoid Embarrassing Anti-Obama ... - FOXNews
FOXNews - Hillary Clinton's staff is trying to avoid an embarrassing anti-Obama demonstration by her supporters during the floor vote at next week's Democratic convention in Denver. Clinton Will Attend Fund-Raiser for Towns Clinton for VP? She Says Ask the Obama Campaign Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:15:16 GMT GM to Invest $500 Million To Build Chevy Cruze - Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal - By KATHY SHWIFF General Motors Corp. will spend more than $500 million in the US to build the Chevrolet Cruze, a next-generation compact car. GM announces $500M investment for small car GM to invest $500 million in small car plant Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:10:12 GMT Marlins let one slip away in San Francisco - Sports Network
Sports Network - San Francisco, CA (Sports Network) - Marlins reliever Kevin Gregg's wild pitch in bottom of the ninth inning scored Emmanuel Burriss to send San Francisco past Florida, 4-3, in the finale of a three-game series. Giants walk off on Gregg's wild pitch Giants beat Marlins on wild pitch in 9th inning Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:33:45 GMT UPDATE 1-Microsoft enlists Seinfeld for ad campaign--source - Reuters Reuters - By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Comedian Jerry Seinfeld will star in a $300 million marketing campaign for Microsoft Corp aimed at burnishing the image of its computer operating system, a person familiar with the effort said on Thursday ... Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates to star in anti-Apple ads Seinfeld to be pitchman for Microsoft Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:27:28 GMT Microsoft's Photosynth wilts under pressure - Computerworld
Computerworld - By Gregg Keizer August 21, 2008 (Computerworld) Within hours of its launch, Microsoft Corp.'s new photo-stitching service went dark, overwhelmed by demand, the company said Thursday afternoon. New Microsoft photo site spends first day offline New Microsoft Tech Converts Photo Soup Into 3-D Image Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:28:59 GMT My Super Sweet 16: The Miley Cyrus Edition - E! Online
E! Online - Miley Cyrus is about to show up all those spoiled brats on My Super Sweet 16 who think they're cool being flown to their party by helicopter or when they're carried in like a princess by a group of hot dudes. Miley Cyrus to Celebrate Turning 16 at Disneyland Miley Cyrus Sweet 16 Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:21:48 GMT IAC Officially Breaks Up - Wall Street Journal
Wall Street Journal - By DAVID BENOIT and KATHY SHWIFF IAC is left as a collection of more than 35 Internet companies -- including search engine Ask.com, dating site Match. IAC: And Then There Were Five Diller's IAC Split May Fail to Boost Investor Returns (Update2) Publ.Date : Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:17:40 GMT Increase Search Engine Traffic |
PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... Today there is great weight put on a person's attitude.... Read More The following question is usually debated a lot amongst IT... Read More The concept of knowledge management or knowledge sharing makes intellectual... Read More Five monkeys were placed in a cage. A banana was... Read More Not long ago I was asked to come out and... Read More Managing, supervising, being a team leader is the hardest job... Read More A critical task in the succession planning process of any... Read More It is when the going gets better, that the going... Read More Stop hiring new administrative support staff. And learn how to... Read More You have been named a new leader in your organization,... Read More By sharing how well you are doing and how well... Read More Howard Dean's tenure as chairman of the Democratic National Committee... Read More This article is directed at senior managers. As a senior... Read More They say that management can be a lonely place. A... Read More Ok, you say, I know I need a budget, but... Read More Resolving conflict doesn't come easily to too many people. Most... Read More The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never... Read More This article relates to the Senior/Top Level management of an... Read More Too many businesses wait until a crisis occurs before they... Read More Each time you or one of your work crews cruises... Read More When economic conditions turn tough or when the heavy work... Read More How would you handle communication if your business or practice... Read More SELECTING THE RIGHT PERSON: To whom should tasks be delegated?... Read More This article relates to the Compensation and Benefits competency, commonly... Read More You, the Entrepreneur, are 'normally' a type-A individual. One who... Read More
Adsense
websites
Is A Bad Attitude Permanent
Which ITIL Process Should We Implement First?
Knowledge Management - Leadership Behaviours Which Encourage Knowledge-Sharing
Can Your Corporate Policy Pass the Monkeys, Bananas, and Water-spray Experiment?
This Old Business
Managing People - Why Is It So Difficult?
Identifying Candidates for Leadership
Dividing The Loot
5 Ways to Work More Effectively With Your Administrative Assistant
Credibility - A Golden Key to Becoming More Influential
Employee Success! - 7 Ways Feedback Works
The Leaders Fallacy May Be Howard Deans Undoing
Your Appraisal System Can Be Better ? Overcome These Nine Serious Failings
Ten Steps to Take the Work out of Work ? Replicate Yourself!
Preparing a Budget
Resolve Differences
The Truth?
Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Senior Management and Directional Change
Five Strategies To Strengthen Your Company?s Financial Management
Driving of work trucks
Morale Boosters: Feed the Troops First
Communicating When A Crisis Strikes
Delegate Tasks to the Right Person
Tales From the Corporate Frontlines: An Unexpected Benefit
Dont Get Side-Tracked By The Nay-Sayers
Affordable and Reliable Web Hosting Starting at $4.49/Month
Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: The Role of Character in Leadership
This article relates to the Senior /Top Level Management competency,... Read More
Hiring Great People And How to Be One Yourself: Five Secrets
Bad news.Your senior vice-president, your marketing director or your accounting... Read More
Collaboration: 3 Keys to Keeping Your Documents from Getting Lost in the Shuffle
Often, collaborating documents in a team or in a business... Read More
How to Delegate Effectively
ACCOUNTABILITY: Delegation is not complete unless subordinates are held accountable... Read More
Managers? Biggest Blunders
Nobody's perfect, including the boss. Managers, we polled recently, acknowledged... Read More
Are You Managing to Lead?
For many people, the terms "manager" and "leader" are synonymous.... Read More
Problems with Group Decision Making
DECISION BY AUTHORITY RULE: Many groups start out with-or quickly... Read More
Spirits in the Corporate Boardroom.......Oh, sure......
There is a growing movement in the spiritual... Read More
What Every Manager Should Know About How to Become An Effective Executive
In his book, The Effective Executive, Peter Drucker pointed out... Read More
Making Change Work
Shaky FoundationsWhilst over 60% of businesses will be looking to... Read More
Problem-Solving Success Tip: Use Your Time for Problems that are Truly Important
Use your time for problems that are truly important.Hard as... Read More
Budgets that Damage - The Downsides of Making the Numbers
In my organisational career, I had budgets from the age... Read More
Disaster Prevention Tips For Hiring A New Manager
It happens over and over in businesses every day.Within large... Read More
Reflections in the Glass Ceiling
The recent news about one of America's most powerful woman... Read More
Business Fails When We Do Not Talk
You may remember being told as a child, "Keep quiet!"... Read More
To Thine Own Self Be True--Its Better for Business: What Arthur Andersen Would Say to His Company
As a child, you probably heard, "to thine own self... Read More
Dealing with Marginal Performers: The Therapeutic Approach
--PREPARATION: The purpose of the therapeutic approach is to spark... Read More
Competion or Cooperation?
It has been said, there is no better way to... Read More
How Bad Communication Can Hold You Back and How to Break Free of It
The reason jobs are often not done right and employees... Read More
The Changing Boss-Secretary Relationship
THE CHANGING BOSS-SECRETARY RELATIONSHIP: Imagine a partnership at work. One... Read More
How to Set Up a Conference Call
The methods in which you set up a conference call... Read More
Creativity and Innovation Management ? Idea Progression
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More
Must Project Managers Be Technically Savvy?
"Must Project Managers be technically savvy?" This topic always seems... Read More
It?s Not All About Cheese: The Missing Component in Employee Development (Part 2)
In part one of this article I told you about... Read More
Prepare A Winning CV
There is every chance that elements of this article may... Read More
Business Management |