Having articulated the problem to be solved, ask all the relevant parties to identify what they see as major pieces of the problem. Avoid including causes or results of the problem; instead, focus on listing major pieces of the problem itself. Don't edit the inputs; just capture everything that’s said on paper. Suspend this process after about 15 minutes. No matter how many items are on the list, it's likely that they'll all tuck up under three to five ''umbrella'' components, so you can then restructure the list, keeping it visible to everyone, by highlighting these umbrella components. Next, decide which of these umbrella components you want to tackle first, and then go on to the next step. (Ultimately, each umbrella component should be taken through the following steps, so you might consider breaking down into teams, with each team being assigned a different umbrella component.)
Causal Analysis
For each umbrella component, the next step is to identify causal factors. You'll need to identify both major causes (factors which directly cause the umbrella component) and minor causes (which go together to cause a major cause). A common mistake here is the confusion of causes with examples. Ensure that the major causes you've identified are actually causes rather than examples of the umbrella component, and then ensure that the minor causes you've identified are actually causes, and not examples, of the major cause. Now decide which major cause you want to tackle first, and take it to the next step. If you're using the team approach, each team can take a major causal factor to the next step.
Make It Worse
Looking at a single major cause and its attendant minor causes, choose only one minor cause. Write down as many reasonable ways in which this one minor cause could be inflamed or worsened. This produces solutions in disguise. Simply invert each negative statement into its positively stated opposite, and you end up with a group of solution statements. Chances are you'll only have to do this with one or two minor causes to find effective ways to eliminate the entire major cause.
Select only one solution statement. Assume it's your responsibility to implement this solution, and list all currently existing resources that could facilitate this implementation. Be careful not to include the projected results of the implementation. Instead, focus on pre-implementation — not post-implementation — and identify only those resources which exist right now to help you implement your solution. Next, list all the currently existing impediments that could thwart your implementation of this solution. Once again, be careful to stay focused on pre-implementation. This step reveals what can be utilized and what must be neutralized to enable the successful implementation of your solution. You'll want to do this for each solution statement derived from step three above.
Implementation Plan
Having completed steps one through four, writing an implementation plan is easy. A sound implementation plan has five sections: (a) what is to be done; (b) by whom; (c) when; such that (d) helpful resources identified above are utilized; and (e) potential impediments identified above have been neutralized. Do this for each solution statement derived from step three above.
Appropriate for really tough business problems, or for badly snarled relationship problems, the structured process suggested here helps keep emotion out of the problem-solving initiative. Using these tools will hasten and heighten clarity of analysis, reveal opportunities for growth, and expedite the identification and implementation of sustainable solutions.
About the Author
Francie Dalton is the author of Versatility: How to Optimize Interactions When 7 Workplace Behaviors Are at Their Worst. Her firm, Dalton Alliances, specializes in all facets of communication, management and behavioral sciences to C-level clients. She has been a monthly columnist for the Washington Business Journal, taught business management to PhD candidates at the University of Maryland, and maintains a client list that includes Fortune 500 firms. Quoted in Investor's Business Daily, The New York Times, USA Today, Chief Executive Magazine, Selling Power, and the Harvard Management Update, Francie has also appeared on CNN/FN and CNBC's Closing Bell.
