Einsten said that if he had an hour to save the world he would have spent "55 minutes defining the problem and only five minutes finding the solution." This quote illustrates an important point: Before trying to solve a problem, we should take a step back and devote time and energy to improve our understanding of it. Here are some strategies you can use to see the problem from many different perspectives and master the most important step in troubleshooting: clearly define the problem!
Steps
Step 1. Express the problem in different words
When a manager asked his employees to come up with ideas for "improving their productivity," all he got was stares. When he expressed his request as "ways to make their job easier", he could barely follow through on the overwhelming amount of suggestions. Words have a strong implicit meaning, and as such, they play an important role in our perception of a problem. In the example above, being productive may seem like a sacrifice you are making for the company, while making your job easier is something that will directly benefit you, but indirectly benefit the company as well. Ultimately, the problem is the same, but the feelings - and points of view - associated with them are very different.
- Play freely with the problem, expressing it in different words many times. For a methodical approach, take individual words and replace them with variations.
- Increase Sales? Try replacing "increase" with "develop, extend, repeat, attract" and notice if your perception of the problem changes. A rich vocabulary can help you a lot in this case, so use a thesaurus and antonyms or improve your vocabulary.
Step 2. Identify and question hypotheses
Every problem - however simple - carries with it a long list of hypotheses. Many of these assumptions may be incorrect and could make the statement of the problem incorrect or misleading.
- The first step in getting rid of the wrong assumptions is to make them explicit. Write a list and identify as many hypotheses as possible - especially the ones that seem most obvious and untouchable. This will suffice to clarify the problem. In practice, you will have to learn to think like a philosopher.
- Take a step forward and check the validity of each hypothesis: think about how they might not be valid and analyze the consequences. What you discover may surprise you: many of those assumptions may be wrong - with a simple analysis you can avoid them.
- For example, suppose you are about to enter the restaurant world. One hypothesis might be "restaurants have a menu". Even if this hypothesis may seem true at first, try to question it and you will discover other interesting models of business (for example a restaurant where customers propose the dishes to cook to the chef).
Step 3. Generalize the problem
Every problem is a small part of a bigger problem. In the same way that you can explore a problem sideways - playing with words and questioning hypotheses - you can also explore it vertically.
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If you feel overwhelmed by details or seem to be looking at a problem from too narrow a point of view, broaden your perspective. To generalize your problem, ask yourself questions such as "What is it part of ?," Is it an example of what? "Or" What is the intention behind this? ".
Define a Problem Step 3 - Another approach that helps a lot to see the problem from a more general point of view and to replace the words with which the problem is formulated with hyperonyms. Hyperonyms are words that have a broader meaning than the given word (vehicle is a hypernym for automobile).
- A good question to ask is whether the problem you are defining is just a symptom of a bigger problem. For example, a high gas bill could be the problem and an obvious solution would be to check if the heating system is broken, or needs to be updated to improve its efficiency. But perhaps the biggest problem is that people in your home use heat inexpensively - and why do they do it? Because they don't have to face the negative consequences; maybe they don't have to pay their bills themselves, so they aren't aware of how much heat waste affects them.
Step 4. Divide the problem
If every problem is part of a bigger problem, this also means that every problem is made up of many smaller problems. Breaking down a problem into smaller problems - each more specific than the original - can provide more insights into it. Making the problem more specific is especially helpful if it seems overwhelming or daunting to you.
- Some of the typical questions you can ask yourself to make a problem more specific are, "What are the parts of this?" or "What are some examples of this?".
- Again, word substitution can be very helpful to you. The class of words that will be useful to you in this case are hyponyms: words that have a narrower meaning than the given word (two hyponyms of "automobile" are "sedan" and "coupe")..
Step 5. Find different perspectives
Before trying to solve a problem, always make sure you look at it from different points of view. Looking at the problem with different eyes is a great way to quickly delve into new, unexplored directions.
- For example, if you need to increase a company's sales, try to see the problem from the consumer's point of view. From a consumer perspective, the problem may come down to adding features to your products that a person is willing to pay more for.
- Rewrite the problem formulation many times, each time using different perspectives. How do your competitors view this problem? Your employees? Your mother?
- Also imagine how people in different roles would frame the problem. How would a politician see it? A university professor? A nun? Try to find the similarities and differences in the methods that the various categories would use to address your problem.
Step 6. Use language constructs effectively
There is no magic formula for finding the perfect formulation of a problem, but there are some language constructs that will help you make it more effective:
- He hypothesizes that there are a myriad of solutions. An excellent way to start a problem formulation is: "In what ways could I…". This expression is much better than "How could I …", because it suggests the existence of many solutions and not just one - or none. It may seem simple, but hope helps your brain find solutions.
- Use positive formulations. Negative statements take a lot more cognitive power to process and can slow you down - or cause you to lose your train of thought. Positive affirmations help you remember the purpose behind the problem, and because of that, they will motivate you a lot more. For example: instead of finding ways to "quit smoking", you might be trying to "boost your energy" or "live longer" and find more motivation in those formulations.
- Frame the problem in the form of a question. Our brains love questions. If the question is powerful and engaging, our brains will do whatever it can to answer it. It's in our nature: our brain will start working on the problem right away and will continue to analyze it even when we don't realize it.
- If you are still stuck, you can use the following formula to define your problem: "In what ways (action) (object) (condition) (final result)?" Example: In what ways could I package (action) my book (object) more appealingly (condition) so that people buy more copies (end result)?
Step 7. Make the problem compelling
In addition to using effective language constructs, it is important to find a problem formulation that engages you so that you are in the right state of mind to approach the problem creatively. If the problem seems too boring, take the time to make it more interesting without turning it upside down. Make the problem catchy. Your brain will thank you and reward you with the solution.
- "Increase your sales" is a boring problem compared to "Impress your customers".
- "Creating a personal development blog" is completely different from "Giving your readers a chance to live to the full".
Step 8. Reverse the problem
One trick that can help you when you can't solve a problem is to turn it upside down. If you want to win, find out what would make you lose. If you can't find ways to "increase your sales," find ways to decrease them. Then just reverse your answers.
- "Making more promotional calls" might be an obvious way to increase sales, but in some cases we only see the obvious answers when we look at the problem from the opposite perspective.
- This method may seem bizarre and counterintuitive, but turning a problem upside down can allow you to discover obvious solutions that you overlooked.
Step 9. Get the information you need
Investigate the causes and circumstances of the problem. Look for details about it - such as its origins and causes. Especially if you have a problem that is too vague, gathering information is often more productive than trying to solve the problem right away.
- For example, if the problem your wife points out is "You never listen to me", the solution is not obvious. But if the wording is "You don't look me in the eye when I talk to you", the solution will be obvious and you won't have to look for it.
- Ask yourself questions about the problem. What do you know about it? When was the last time everything worked out right? Can you draw a diagram of the problem? What are the boundaries of the problem? Be curious. Ask questions and gather information. It is said that a well defined problem is already half solved: you might add that a perfectly defined problem is no longer even a problem!
Advice
- The balance between the energies to be devoted to defining the problem and solving the problem is difficult to find. 55 minutes of definition and 5 minutes of resolution is not necessarily the best proportion. The fundamental aspect that we need to understand is the importance of defining the problem and avoiding neglecting it.
- What many of us do not understand - and what Einstein alluded to - is that the quality of the solutions we find is directly proportional to the quality of the description of the problem we are trying to solve. Not only will the solutions be more numerous and of better quality, it will be much, much easier to obtain.
