Oops! We have Solved the “Wrong” Problem!

• We have become very efficient in living in a world filled with instant gratification where every external stimulus deserves an immediate (almost in a nanosecond) response!!!
• Just look around and see people with their cell phones, blackberries, in discussion sessions – eager to speak, to respond, almost itching to do so..
• I have myself been in sessions where I have coached people to ‘listen between the lines’ and understand others perspective before responding. Its amazing to observe how people instead of ‘listening’ are actually mentally rehearsing their own lines while someone else is talking, just waiting for the other person to conclude
• Some of the North Asian cultures encouraged ‘thinking’ followed by a consensus based response – contemporary business cultures are unfortunately erasing these great habits!
• I have come across many situations where talented, result oriented individuals and groups get together to study a situation and define the underlying problem. Being a part of the instant gratification ‘culture’ & faced with tight deadlines, they often define the problem, well … ‘wrongly’!!!
• They then set about in full steam to solve the ‘wrong’ problem and do a good job at it! All the while there is a lot of visible activity, the reporting hierarchies are happy with the development & in some instances the individuals are also rewarded or publicly recognized
• Strangely though when the initial euphoria settles – the desired results are not visible. Some of the ‘participants’ then own up and confess that they expected better results while some try and sweep the data under the carpet & forget about it…
• The crux here is the value of the ‘thinking exercise’, be it individual or collaborative. The proverbial sharpening of the axe before beginning to chop down the tree
• An imperfect situation that needs to be fixed absolutely demands the time for thinking and analyzing to determine what is causing the imperfection – the problem itself. Often what meets the eye and seems like the obvious cause is not it!
• Matrix organizations & formation of cross functional groups presents opportunities for gathering varied perspectives on the same set of circumstances & data.
• If you are a team member leverage these varied views, contribute yours and encourage the team to take a balanced view based on the consolidated set of opinions.
• If you are a leader and do not necessarily want to make a consensus based decision, ask questions, challenge individual views and take holistic view of the surrounding circumstances or data to define the problem before commencing the “fix”
• While it is mostly a drag to dwell long on the problem instead of setting out in light speed to solve it – you will serve yourself, your team and your organization well in terms of time, effort & investment by choosing to define the problem better