“Just make it go away!”

Is that how you feel when a problem – any problem -  crops up?

You just want to make it go away as fast as you can?

Instead, build the instinct – and you can – to pause and take enough time to find the root cause.

Make that go away, and the problem will follow.

Or else?

You’ll find yourself stuck in a situation a bit like the movie, “Groundhog Day.”

You’ll be back at the starting line again and again – until you get the cause right, and make it go – and stay – away.

To manage this part of the problem-solving process you need:

1. The right tools
2. The right environment
3. The right team

Let’s look at each part in more detail:

1. The right tools

There are several good cause-finding tools that you  can use. Here’s a classic one:

- The “five whys”

This tool is simple but requires attentive, thoughtful use.

First, state what you think the problem is.

Then, ask why it happens.

And ask why that happens.

Ask why that happens.

Repeat the process until you have asked “Why?” five times, and have found the root cause of the problem.

Eliminate the root and, if your analysis and implementation are well-done, the problem will go away, as well.

Working your way through the “five whys” is like peeling the layers of an onion, or finding the root of a weed that you must pull out of the ground so that the weed can’t grow back.

- Looking back from the future

Pretend that you’re in the future, looking back on this problem-solving effort, seeing how it was solved very effectively.

When you look at it from that imagined time and vantage point, what solution do you imagine was implemented?

What were the positive long-run effects of the solution?

Is there anything that is even better than you imagined, thanks to the way the problem was solved?

This creative, future perspective and thought process may give you clues about the root cause and possible solutions that you may not have considered yet.

2. The right environment

To create the right environment, the problem-solving team leader needs to be:

- Positive

- Focused on finding the right cause of the problem, whatever it is, and finding good, workable ways to eliminate that source of difficulty

- Able to handle the “slings and arrows” of a problem-solving team that may be far from enthusiastic about their task

It’s easy at this point, especially, to get mired in finger-pointing, turf-defending and blame-deflecting.

Don’t do that.

The team leader needs to rise above, and lead far beyond all the pitfalls of this work, and to create a productive and future-focused work environment.

A problem-solving team I was on at one point in my career was trouble-shooting the process of creating a promotional video for a major change management effort in the high tech firm where we worked.

The production process had been unnecessarily difficult, and while the team had met its communication effectiveness target, it had gone over budget and barely met the deadline for completion of the project.

We wanted to help other teams avoid that very painful experience, if we could.

As a team, we convened for the process “post-mortem” and tried to identify root causes for the problem we were trying to prevent in the future.

The clearest sign of possible trouble with our problem-solving environment, right from the start?

No one wanted to take the lead in the process, and no one wanted to cross the threshold to go into the problem-solving room, at all.

We saw that we were avoiding the fact-facing, worried that the process could degenerate into finger-pointing and blame-making.

Once we faced our fears of what we might find and set to work, we created a very effective environment and problem-solving experience.

We produced an improved process and clear guidelines other teams could use to avoid all the pain of the production process that we had known.

3. The right team

Create a team of people who are knowledgeable about what is happening.

In addition, make sure problem-solving team members are observant, fact- and solution-focused, open-minded, analytical, and able to follow the analysis wherever it leads.

That’s easy to say, and tough to do when there’s a problem that binds you as a team, like it or not. It takes strength and courage not to go into blame-making mode.

Don’t make your problem-solving and cause-finding process a problem on top of the problem, itself.

Take the approach of “It’s us, as a team, against the problem. How can we make our team win – and the problem, fail?”

*Knowing what’s really causing the problem, and moving beyond finger-pointing, blame-making, deflection-creating actions to make the problem go away, is essential for effective, efficient problem-solving that stands the test of time.

You can read more about the problem-solving process in a recent blog post I wrote, Take the problems out of your problem-solving process.

Recall a thorny problem you once faced, and thought you could eliminate easily, but that was far from the case.

Why did solving that problem take so much time, effort and energy?

The odds are pretty high that problems with the information available to do the problem-solving job proved to be a barrier to understanding the issue, fully, and getting it resolved.

These are some of the things that may have gone wrong:

- You had no data or information
- Information was inaccurate or incomplete
- Information was very hard to get and reconcile
- Information wasn’t presented in the right way to make the problem easy to grasp

Whether you like this phase of problem-solving or not, fact-finding is a fact of life.

Consider these things the next time you must gather data for problem-solving or problem prevention:

1. What questions are you trying to answer with the information you collect?

2. What are you afraid of finding out? Why?

3. Who will use the information?

4. What are they likely to do with it? When do they need it?

5. What information do you have now?

6. What information do you still need?

7. How can you gather that information in the most effective way?

Let’s consider each of these issues separately:

1. What questions are you trying to answer with the information you collect?

Let curiosity about the problem be your guide as you decide what information to gather, and how to use it (if you ever wanted to be a detective, the time is now to use those skills).

Be specific, however, about the questions you’re trying to answer before you begin the information quest or you may find yourself far afield, and quickly, without the right information in tow.

For example, these are some of the issues you may be trying to understand about the problem and the pattern in which it occurs:

- Timing and frequency of the problem
- Sequence of actions that precede its appearance
- Physical or other circumstances in which the problem happens compared to circumstances where it doesn’t
- Training taken by those who don’t experience the problem compared to those who do

2. What are you afraid of finding out?

Here’s a fact we must face: at many companies, there’s a lot of fear about data and information, and how it may be used.

That makes gathering and using data, and doing so effectively, far harder than it would be in a fact-friendly environment.

Be honest about what you’re afraid of finding out. It’s better to know, than to pretend that fear isn’t, in some way, in play in your information gathering process.

Even if the thing that you fear happens – or already has – the problem isn’t going to get better, and is likely to get worse, the longer you avoid uncovering and understanding it.

Consider this: the actual circumstances you find may be far better than you imagine.

And the faster you find that out, the better off you will be.

3. Who will use the information?

As you decide what data you need to collect, and how you will use it, be aware of who the customers for that information are.

Find out what makes it easiest for them to use the information as they try to understand and solve the problem now underway.

For example, one group of customers may need a glossary of terms to be fully-versed and able to use the information you provide.

Another group may be so familiar with the information that providing such a guide would be a waste of time (although you might be surprised).

4. What are they likely to do with the information? And when do they need it?

Consider what may happen as a result of the information you’re providing.

Giving estimates and trend information before final information is available can be helpful to some groups so that they can keep moving while you complete your data-gathering.

On the other hand, providing a “rough cut” of what the data show may be exactly the wrong thing to do if someone is likely to make assumptions and decisions that are ultimately incorrect, and add problems on top of the problem you now have.

5. What information do you have now?

You may already have the information you need.

It may even be hiding in plain sight, presented in a different format or location than you expect.

Check to see what you already have, before you start a data-gathering project.

6. What information do you still need?

Take into account how you will gather the information you still need.

For example, you may obtain it in some of these, or other ways:
- Observation
- Surveys
- Interviews
- New analysis of existing data
- Trying to recreate the problem and experience it yourself

Your answers have a lot to do with how much time you need to allow, how many resources you need, and what type of skills they must have to provide the type and quality of information you need to understand and solve the problem completely.

7. How can you gather the information in the most effective way?

Figure out the most effective and timely way to get the information you need, and to use it well for problem-solving.

You may need to bring in experienced outside resources, provide training to employees, or in other ways supplement your current readiness to handle the type of situation you now face and, in the future, want to prevent.

However you do it, get the facts you need to understand the problem you face and its cause, or causes.

And then, let the facts you gather speak for themselves.

Does the idea of taking on the information planning, gathering and analysis make you want to run?

Give me a call. We’ll work together to get it done.

*Getting the facts – moving well beyond initial assumptions, impressions and opinions about the issue you’re facing – is essential for effective, efficient problem-solving. You can read more about the problem-solving process in a recent blog post, Take the problems out of your problem-solving process.

…or you.

Too simple, you scoff?

Give it a try.

Pick something small you’ve been intending to:

- Get rid of

- Donate

- Store

- Sell

- Give to a friend

- Put to better use, somehow

Just a thing or two…make the move.

And then, having started, do it again.

You’ll appreciate the fresh perspective, the new view.

It’s just a thing or two.

Just move.

In the midst of the noise, uncertainty and fear that often surrounds problem-solving – especially if the problem is a big one – you need to find or set a clear target.

Figuring out who the solution is really for and what they want is one of the main steps involved in solving any problem. You can read more about the problem-solving process in a recent post, Take the problems out of your problem-solving process.

To do so, consider these things:

1. Who are you solving the problem for?

2. What do your problem-solving customers consider success to be?

3. How will they recognize a successful solution?

Let’s take a closer look at each of these points:

1. Who are you solving the problem for?

When you’re solving a problem, someone’s work or life will be improved by the work you do (if not, there may not be a problem to solve, at all).

The person whose work or life is better because of your work is your customer – and there may be several whose needs you must meet.

Let’s look at an example:

Imagine you’re responsible for recruiting students to a college.

Now imagine that the current problem you’re trying to solve is that students who are entering the college are not as successful there as you, or they, hoped they would be.

These are some of the people whose lives will be improved if you solve this problem successfully:

- Prospective and future students at the college
- Parents of these students
- Prospective employers and graduate schools who may hire/accept the graduates

There are other customers in this problem-solving example, but for now, let’s consider just these three groups.

Of these, which are your top-priority customers?

2. What do these customers consider success to be?

Your problem-solving customers have different wants and needs in the solution you create.

Using our example, the three different groups of customers may want an application and selection process that’s effective in some of these ways:

- Accurately portrays the experience at the college
- Accurately assesses prospective students’ likelihood of success at the college
- Efficient
- Consistent
- Fair
- Cost-effective
- Complete
- Easy to use

Of these and other possible improvements, what are the most important ones for your customers?

You can try to guess what they want, of course.

But you will be most successful with your problem-solving efforts if you ask what they want.

Use a survey or interviews.

Have them prioritize what they want and need in the solution you are creating.

You can also observe your problem-solving customers using the product, service, or process that now needs to be improved.

As you observe, pay close attention to what they do and say to understand where and how the problems occur, specifically. This can provide invaluable information for creating the best solution, and doing so most easily.

3. How will your problem-solving customers recognize a successful solution?

To address this issue, find out specifically how your customers will recognize a successful solution to the problem, after you have made the change.

What will they measure to tell them that the problem has been solved?

Using our example, here are some of the ways that prospective students may measure the success of an improved application and selection process:

- Satisfaction with the ease of finding the information they need (online, social media, e-mail, phone)
- Accuracy and completeness of the information
- Ease of completing the application (technical ease, time to complete, reasonableness of the questions asked)
- Value of the experience in helping them to evaluate the school as one they would like to attend and where they would succeed
- Comparison of their experience with other college application processes they are completing

Their parents may be judging these types of things about the application and selection process:
- Customer satisfaction with the ease of finding the information they need
- Accuracy and completeness of the information
- Their child’s ease of completing the application
- Overall quality of their family’s experience in interacting with the college throughout the selection process
- Comparison of their experience with other college application processes they are completing

Again, you don’t know for sure how your work and solution will be judged until you take the time to ask.

Prepare yourself for a successful, efficient problem-solving process, as much as you can.

Take the time now to save time and money later.

Create a clear, customer-focused target in order to produce a successful result for you, your problem-solving customers, and the problem-solving team.

You know the moment.

We all do.

It’s the moment when you feel the sudden, sinking feeling that something’s . . . not . . . right.

And, in fact, perhaps you sometimes discover that the situation is far worse than you originally guessed.

Mistakes happen. Problems crop up. Errors, despite one’s best efforts, sometimes get through.

Almost always, though, you’re better off to discover problems early, when they’re less expensive and relatively easy to fix, and easier to prevent in the future.

The first signs of a problem are sometimes impossible to miss.

Imagine the volume, velocity, and vehemence of the feedback Google gets when gMail is down, as it was for a few hours last week. They rapidly found and fixed it.

On the other hand, the first signs of trouble can be subtle. They’re sometimes easy to miss, and dismiss.

There are many large and small examples of this.

The financial market meltdown is just one high-impact example.

Early signs of problems with lending practices were widely disregarded. Industry and oversight practices were not made until major damage was already done to many people, in many ways.

How can you learn to notice the signs of problems early, before the cost of errors, rework and customer relationship recovery is high, if it is possible, at all?

Figuring out that there is a problem, and assessing what’s really going on is one of the primary skills involved in solving any problem. You can read more about the problem-solving process in a recent post, Take the problems out of your problem-solving process.

Here are a few things you can do to improve your problem-discovery skills:

1. Tune up your powers of observation

Start with what’s very clear.

What do you see, hear, and observe that shows you something needs to be fixed?

Pay close and regular attention to your key indicators of cost, quality, timeliness, new customer requirements, and customer satisfaction results so that you notice and can look into changes early.

Look carefully at the details and trends in customer complaints. They are information-rich, providing feedback to guide improvements. They may also give you ideas for new products and services you can offer in the future.

Notice, as well, the subtle signs that something bad may be brewing.

These often fall into the category of, “It’s probably nothing, but I think we should just check.”

You’re right.

Just check.

2. Move closer, learn more

The natural inclination with problems is often to want to move FAR away from them.

Fight that instinct.

Instead, go closer.

Let your curiosity and any natural detective skills you have be your guide.

Move in.

Learn more.

3. Share information with others who have a different point of view

Make a picture of what you think may be happening. Find other ways to make the issue explicit, if something warrants more investigation, or requires more insight.

Share your information with others who have a different perspective. See how the picture adds up, viewed from multiple points of view.

Frame the possible problem and understand the context from your customers’ and other stakeholders’ perspectives, as well. What you believe is not a problem may be a significant one for customers, employees, and more.

4. Learn to distinguish what’s important – or could be – from what’s just noise

Go where the problem (or possible problem) is actually occurring – or have someone who can look at the problem with “fresh eyes” do so – to see what they see.

Set aside your assumptions about:
- What you’ll see
- What things mean
- What you’ll do if there is,
in fact, a problem

Just check.

Learn to discover problems early.

Solve them when they’re still small.

Following a particularly memorable baseball game one night – a no-hitter, I believe – I listened carefully to the post-game accolades, analysis, and flood of suggested process improvements for individual players and the team.

Over the course of that half hour, the commentators kept using the term, “stuff.”

I was slightly amused, slightly perturbed by the constant use of this very vague word (or so I thought).

“‘Stuff’?! What is this ‘STUFF’?! they keep talking about?” I asked my husband and son.

“You KNOW! ‘STUFF!’” they said.

To them, that was enough of an explanation to provide to a novice learning the fine points of the game.

Jargon in any field seems like natural language to people conversant in that realm.

Business people are frequently taken to task for jargon-filled language by those unfamiliar with frequently-used business terms.

“What does it MEAN?! Say that in an everyday way!” business people are often, frustratedly advised.

With “stuff,” as a casual baseball fan who always has more to learn (and knows it), I had the same feeling.

A few days later, there it was again, “stuff,” rolling through the game and post-game commentary, over and over.

My husband now laughed every time the commentator used the term.

Finally, I couldn’t stand it.

“Yes, but what does it MEAN?!!” I asked.

“Wait…let’s check the baseball dictionary. I bet it won’t be in there!”

Our son reached for the Dickson Baseball Dictionary (why we have it, I’m not sure. But we do).

There it was, in GREAT detail.

“Stuff” covered 3/4 of an entire column on one page, and 2/3 of a column on the next page. Here’s how it started:

“Stuff. A pitcher’s assortment or repertoire of pitches collectively, together with his ability.”

And on the next page, here it was:

“STUFF. A shorthand rating of a pitcher’s demonstrated skills relative to his age and level. Its primary use is to evaluate pitching prospects.”

Ahhh, now it was perfectly clear, even to casual-fan me.

The “stuff” lesson was an important one to me in several ways. These were the primary ones:

1. What’s the measure in your field that’s used to judge excellent prospects and producers?

2. Are there people with whom you work who need to know the meaning of primary terms and basic rules of the game in your industry or organization? Do they know what they need to know? Do their supervisors know? Are they comfortable getting help with the things they have to learn? Does the culture where you work actively support learning in various ways?

3. What basic reference materials and resources would you refer someone to if he or she needed to know basic information in your organization? These could be commonly used terms (but not necessarily commonly understood terms…you would be surprised), processes, decision rules, measures, and other “rules of the game” they need to know in order to be effective, and a good member of your team.

Problem-solving is, well, it’s often a problem, itself.

Remember a time when something happened that wasn’t planned.

And it wasn’t good.

You didn’t have extra time to clean up the mess the problem created for you, or for the customers you work so hard to get, and keep.

And yet, what choice did you have?

Much better than getting to that point, of course, is keeping problem-solving skills fresh, and solving problems while they’re still small.

That requires paying attention to the signs that there is a problem - seeking signs of trouble, if you will.

And it means taking a little time now instead of a lot of time later, when the problem and its impact on you and your customers may have grown out of control.

If your problem-solving skills need a tune-up, try these eight steps:

1. Know what it’s about

Generally, what’s the problem?

Who seems to be involved?

Who needs to be involved in designing a solution and implementing it?

What’s the impact of the problem on you and your customers?

2. Know who the solution is really for, and what they want

In the midst of the noise, uncertainty and fear that often surrounds problem-solving – especially if the problem is a big one – you need to find a clear target.

Who is the solution for?

What would they consider success to be, when you’ve solved this problem?

Are there other customers or stakeholders whose needs you need to consider as you create the best solution?

3. Get the facts

You need facts to fully understand the problem you face, and the magnitude of its impact.

What information do you have, or can you get, to help you understand the problem completely?

4. Figure out what’s really causing it

If you miss the real cause of the problem, you may, in fact, create more problems with the solution you plan to put in place.

Using the “five whys” to discover the root cause of the problem.

Ask yourself or your team why something is happening.

Now ask yourselves why that is happening…and why that is happening.

Do this until you discover the real cause of the problem.

It may be that some group or individual needs training to do a job consistently, and up to the customers’ expectations.

Maybe a process is now too complicated, or technology is out of date.

Or perhaps communication isn’t good between different parts of your company, and it’s showing up in problems that get out to the customer.

Whatever it is, the root cause of the problem is what you need to reduce or eliminate.

Until then, you’re largely wasting your time and money, going through the motions of problem-solving, rather than getting the job done.

5. Find the easiest way to make the cause go away

Envision the easiest way to make the cause of the problem go away.

Can you implement that solution, just as you envision it? If not, what’s in the way?

Take those constraints into account and create the solution that works best for your overall situation and resources.

Figure out, too, who needs to be involved in implementing the solution.

Bring them into the problem solution process early enough that they have high ownership of the solution they need to help create.

6. Know how you’ll know if the solution is working

How will you know if your solution is working while you try it out, and before you take the time and bear the expense to implement it fully?

What can you measure or observe that will let you know if the problem is actually going away with this improvement effort?

7. Give your idea a try

The only way you’ll know if your solution works is to try it out.

Pay close attention to signs of success or failure of the test, and get others to pay close attention, too, to what they see.

Evaluate the results that you find, collectively.

8. Celebrate…or try again

If the test worked, capture the process improvement or other changes you’ve made.

Then fully implement the solution throughout your company or organization.

And celebrate, if appropriate, in a valued way.

On the other hand, if the fix didn’t work, go through the process again.

It’s a safe bet that if you don’t, the problem won’t just go away. And it’s likely to grow, faster than you might imagine, affecting things in ways you might not guess.

Your best best:

Solve today’s problem today.