Surrounded by problems

          

Earth Quake In China

Problems and Solutions Interchangeable?    In the world we live in, there are problems and solutions.  Sometimes we are not sure which is which.  Some said that the earthquake in China which is estimated to have killed 80,000 is a problem we all must share to resolve.  All over the world, aid from governments, professional groups, religious organisations, student bodies, health workers and many millions of individuals have pledge their assistance to the victims.

Yet there are those who felt that it is a solution… the earthquake served a useful purpose that showed the leaders of China are really a humane team, unlike the accusations that run rampant in bad media publicity of ‘Tibetan suppression’, not the ‘Human Rights violators’. 

Clearly, there are many sides to view any situation.

I am a consultant in practice.  My area of interest is team-based problem solving.  This blog is set up to share some of my thoughts on how teams formulate problems, which will then go a long way to find viable solutions.

     Participants learning to use problem solving tools 

  
Proudly display what they learned

My approach will be very straight forward:

1.   Defining the problem
2.   Identify the possible root causes
3.   Analysis and consolidation the case
4.   Designing alternative solutions
5.   Implementation of solutions

Although after step 4, there are still much to be done to solve the problem.  The power of defining problems and reaching good alternative solutions technically precedes decisions and actions.  In reality, decision making which cannot be made by a third party – never never leave it to an external consultant.  The simple reason is that actions that followed must be relevant to the parties concerned – and the owners are the only ones who will have to live with the solutions.  

On this blog site, I will not pretend that actions can be directly applied to your case, even if you think you face the same situation.  But what I think is most useful is to share with you how the teams interpreted their problems, and in the event you learn it, you can translate this into appropriate solutions. 

Next, let me share with you some difficulties I face in my work. In the course of my work, I notice that many of my clients are simply caught in Catch-22 traps. 

There are mainly two types:

               

The first type – ‘Everything that is happening around them seems to be problems’.  While they see no solutions and even engage consultants, the only achievement is that they find more problems.  The impasse – the problem is simply too big to handle.  Any idea will do (not true!).

The second type – ‘There is no problem here, we are (surely not!) doing fine.’  Yet, the others around them – their neighbours/competitors are booming and doing so much better, while in their defensiveness concluded that nothing is wrong.  They passively allow world to drift pass. 

This blog will highlight various problems without mentioning names.  This blog will not pretend to offer solutions except those which are already proved to have worked in that special situation. 

Attempts to duplicate the solutions is strictly discouraged!  Unless you are very sure that the condition, constraints and circumstances are exactly the same (extremely unlikely), then and only then you will be able to apply the solution directly.  

In the event that you find that a case really matches what you experienced, I assure you that it is purely coincidental, unless you happen to be my client, and in any case, you have been told of my intention to draft the case for the benefit of others.  

Have an open mind and be ready to share your experience and be free to comment on my take of these cases in my blog.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

Thomas Papa and Joel

 

CHIA Yew Heng