problem with problems

Do you want to be an effective problem solver?
Well, delve into the intricacies of defining a problem

If you have an hour to cut a tree, spend three-quarters of that time sharpening your axe - a dictum from the Upanishads rendered into modern language. A group of people approached Albert Einstein to find out how the mind of a genius worked when it was engaged in problem solving. He was asked the following question, "If you were told that a huge body was hurtling from outer space towards the earth and was certain to hit the world in sixty minutes and destroy a thousand cities how would you solve the problem and save the world?" The great scientist replied that out of the sixty minutes he would spend 55 minutes trying to understand what exactly was the problem!

An executive spends a good portion of his time trying to solve problems. It is therefore critical to his functioning that he has a grasp on the techniques of problem solving. Perhaps no aspect of the problem-solving process is as important as the problem-identification or problem-definition stage. In this piece I shall delve into the intricacies of problem definition.

How you define a problem will determine how effective you are in solving the problem. It was during the years when NASA had plans to send a man into outer space that the importance of defining a problem accurately' was vividly brought home. A group of astronauts were put through an elaborate drill under simulated conditions of weightlessness. Several scientists observed them form outside the enclosure. The astronauts were themselves asked to write down in a diary the experiences and problems encountered by them. Once they emerged from the enclosure the astronauts complained that they found it difficult to write more than a few lines with their ballpoint pens, since these pens were not designed to write upside down. NASA officials summoned a group of technologists 'to invent a pen' that could write when held upside down. Several months and millions of dollars later they gave up. A creativity consultant was brought into achieve a breakthrough. He said that the reason why no breakthrough was achieved was that the problem was improperly defined. Had the task been defined as 'coming up with a device' that could write when held upside down, it would take only a few seconds to announce the solution; the use of pencil!

A common mistake in problem solving especially in the business context is to assume that there is something called the 'real problem'. Often one hears in business meetings that the real problem is quality, or pricing, cost control, or morale or whatever. Rather then search for some ideal definition of the real problem it is more profitable to work out a number of alternative definitions of it and see how each of these illuminates our thinking. The more ways we can look at and describe a problem, the better the options we can generate to solve the problem.

In my training sessions on 'problem solving' I enjoy referring to recent events and pose certain questions to the participants, viz., "What is the problem here?" The most vocal or confident of the group announces what he thinks is the real problem. I then ask, "What else is the problem?" This usually produces two or three new definitions. I then ask, "Do you know of any other ways in which we could restate the problem?' This sets the ball rolling and in twenty minutes we have close to fifty definitions! In this process the participants recognize several dimensions and approaches to the problem, which they had not envisaged when the exercise began! In some cases the entire focus of the issue changes, but almost always there is noticeable increase in the number of factors they choose to study in the situation.

Another technique involves asking divergent questions. I have found the following questions useful in broadening the view of the problem; 'Why is this a problem? How does it manifest itself to each member of the group? What undesirable conditions does it cause? How might this problem resemble other problems we may have solved? How is it different? Are we sure we have to solve it? What would happen if we ignored the problem?'

To rapidly enlarge our view of a problem we may apply the "WHY" Technique. I applied this technique when casually advising the owner of a medium sized hotel. The conversation went like this…

How is business?

Bad.

Why?

Occupancy is low, below breakeven point of 60 pc. Why is the breakeven point 60 per cent?

That is the way cost are. The fixed costs are the culprit.

Why are they culprits?

There is no way I can cut down some fixed cost like labour. Why are all of labour costs fixed?

Take the kitchen staff. There is no way I could run a hotel of this size without cooks for a variety of cuisine some of which may be demanded by customers only occasionally.


Why do you have to keep such cooks in your employment?

Because, I do not want to tell my customers that a certain type of food is not available here. Why could you not get these items cooked on a subcontract basis?

This led to the idea that my friends set up an arrangement with thelawalas opposite his hotel for those items that were demanded only sporadically and dispensed with full time cooks for those cuisine's!

Every problem can be viewed from multiple perspectives. And what drives these perspectives? Biases and mindsets, those unseen killers of objectives truths determine our perspective of any problem. Moreover the moment we define our problem, our thinking about it narrows down quickly. The way out is to restate or redefine a problem in as many different ways as possible.

Techniques of problem restatement are many but some are recounted here.

1. Turn the problem on its head; a 180-degree turn.

Example: The huge problem of our country responsible for the problem of poverty.
Restatement: The huge problem of poverty is responsible for the population problem. The first was the viewpoint now prevails.

2. Restate the problem in a larger context.

Example: Should I change jobs?
Restatements: How can I achieve job security {or job satisfaction}?

3. Boldly change the focus.

Example: How can we boost sales?
Restatement: How can we cut costs?

Of all the techniques of restatement this one demands the most thought and creativity. It is also the most productive.

The computer is not quite as helpful in the area of problem solving, as one might believe. But an investment analyst in Mumbai challenged this contention. He worked for many months writing a program that would analyze stock prices in the BSE and work out an ideal investment strategy. After a great deal of effort he got the programme debugged and running. He fed in the daily prices on the BSE for a full year's trading. Then he pressed the start button and waited. For a long time the computer sat silently searching rapidly through the enormous data. Finally the printer chattered for a second and stopped. He ran over to look at the result expecting an answer that would make him rich. The computer had printed, "Buy low, and sell high."