Ultimate Guide To Improve Your Problem Solving Skills

Problem solving is the act of defining a problem; determining the cause of the problem; identifying, prioritizing, and selecting alternatives for a solution; and implementing a solution. In order to effectively manage and run a successful organization, leadership must guide their employees and develop problem-solving techniques. Finding a suitable solution for issues can be accomplished by following the four-step problem-solving process and methodology.

Problem solving with a standardized, disciplined and methodical approach is by far the best way of understanding root causes, exploring influences and implementing solutions that not only work, but also stay effective over time. The best solution to a problem is not always the most obvious and only after careful thought and assessment can the most suitable and feasible solution or solutions be implemented.

Problem-solving styles are the different ways companies and individuals attempt to solve problems. The various problem-solving styles can help alleviate deviations from what is expected or planned, including anything from technical problems to employee-relations problems. Despite the various approaches, these styles address some or all of the stages of the problem-solving process.

The Eight Disciplines of Problem Solving (8D) is a problem solving methodology designed to find the root cause of a problem, devise a short-term fix and implement a long-term solution to prevent recurring problems. When it’s clear that your product is defective or isn’t satisfying your customers, an 8D is an excellent first step to improving Quality and Reliability.

“If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it,” Albert Einstein said.

Those were wise words, but from what I have observed, most organizations don’t heed them when tackling innovation projects. Indeed, when developing new products, processes, or even businesses, most companies aren’t sufficiently rigorous in defining the problems they’re attempting to solve and articulating why those issues are important.

Root cause analysis (RCA) is a systematic process for identifying “root causes” of problems or events and an approach for responding to them. RCA is based on the basic idea that effective management requires more than merely “putting out fires” for problems that develop, but finding a way to prevent them.

“Quick fixes” may seem convenient, but they often solve only the surface issues and waste resources that could otherwise be used to tackle the real cause.

In this article and in the video, below, we look at the 5 Whys technique (sometimes known as 5Y). This is a simple but powerful tool for cutting quickly through the outward symptoms of a problem to reveal its underlying causes, so that you can deal with it once and for all.

This 5-minute video explains a simple example of a 5-Why root cause analysis for the Titanic.

When brainstorming focuses on problem solving, it can be useful to analyze the problem with tools that lead to creative solutions. Analytic brainstorming is relatively easy for most people because it draws on idea generation skills they’ve already built in school and in the workplace. No one gets embarrassed when asked to analyze a situation.

Do you ever have an issue developing ideas? Here are six creative ways to overcome hitting a roadblock when generating ideas.

There are two reasons why we tend to see a problem as a problem: it has to be solved and we’re not sure how to find the best solution, and there will probably be conflicts about what the best solution is. Most of us tend to be “conflict-averse”. We don’t feel comfortable dealing with conflict and we tend to have the feeling that something bad is going to happen. The goal of a good problem-solving process is to make us and our organization more “conflict-friendly” and “conflict-competent”.

Of the many skills leaders need to be effective, research consistently shows that complex problem solving is paramount. For most of us, however, solving difficult problems and selling the solutions doesn’t come naturally since we haven’t been taught how to do it well. And when we try, obstacles abound.

We’ve identified five pitfalls that frequently trip up business leaders when they tackle complex problems.

All of the blocks, except those caused by the physical environment, arise through learning or lack of it, either our own or that of people who influence us. We can overcome most of our own blocks permanently by re-learning, and overcome other people’s blocks which hinder us by learning ways to sidestep them.

The criteria of effectiveness which you defined to guide your search for solutions are inadequate to make an effective evaluation. Each solution may differ slightly or radically in the way and the extent to which it achieves your various goals. To be able to evaluate these effectively’ you need to construct a model of the ideal solution against which to measure them.

Implementation is the culmination of all your work in solving a problem and requires careful attention to detail. There are three basic stages involved:

— planning and preparing to implement the solution
— implementing and monitoring the action
— reviewing and analysing the success of the action.

You might think that being passive aggressive with your colleagues is the way to go, but this will eventually boil over and poison the workplace. First, as an employee, identify what is wrong. Second, improve your problem-solving skills. Third, enjoy how peaceful and productive your workday has become without these headaches and challenges. These are just elements of your overall professional skills.

Problem solving games aren’t for just any team. Participants must have an open-mind and accept all ideas and solutions. They must also have an Agile mindset and be open to different structures, planning, and processes. Problems usually arise when we least expect them, so there’s no better way to prepare than embrace agility and flexibility.

People who have responsibility for and control over the work feel a greater commitment to ensuring that they work efficiently. Staff should be given the freedom to mal decisions and to tackle problems without constantly having to get agreement from their manager. Some managers feel that this lessens their control over staff and their work. In fact, because people are more committed to their work, their is less need for control.

Problem solving is the essence of what leaders exist to do.  As leaders, the goal is to minimize the occurrence of problems – which means we must be courageous enough to tackle them head-on before circumstances force our hand.  We must be resilient in our quest to create and sustain momentum for the organization and people we serve. But the reality of the workplace finds us dealing with people that complicate matters with their corporate politicking, self-promotion, power-plays and ploys, and envy.

Some simple tips on how to have a successful argument, without it getting heated and with both parties being able to walk away satisfied – whether that be satisfied that they’re right, or satisfied that they learned something new.

Today’s professionals are under pressure to keep the ideas coming and to deliver new products, services, and organizational changes that provide real value. However, generating and nurturing new ideas is a team effort—and one that can easily waste time and create chaos and conflict among team members. The good news is that the process of bringing new ideas to fruition can be highly productive if we can learn to work together more effectively.

To be an effective problem-solver, you need to be systematic and logical in your approach. This quiz helps you assess your current approach to problem solving. By improving this, you’ll make better overall decisions. And as you increase your confidence with solving problems, you’ll be less likely to rush to the first solution – which may not necessarily be the best one.

Making toast doesn’t sound very complicated — until someone asks you to draw the process, step by step. Tom Wujec loves asking people and teams to draw how they make toast, because the process reveals unexpected truths about how we can solve our biggest, most complicated problems at work. Learn how to run this exercise yourself, and hear Wujec’s surprising insights from watching thousands of people draw toast.

Navi Radjou has spent years studying “jugaad,” also known as frugal innovation. Pioneered by entrepreneurs in emerging markets who figured out how to get spectacular value from limited resources, the practice has now caught on globally. Peppering his talk with a wealth of examples of human ingenuity at work, Radjou also shares three principles for how we can all do more with less.

Problem Solving 101: A Simple Book for Smart People. Ken Watanabe originally wrote Problem Solving 101 for Japanese schoolchildren. His goal was to help shift the focus in Japanese education from memorization to critical thinking, by adapting some of the techniques he had learned as an elite McKinsey consultant.

Bulletproof Problem Solving: The One Skill That Changes Everything. In this book, you’ll learn the seven-step systematic approach to creative problem solving developed in top consulting firms that will work in any field or industry, turning you into a highly sought-after bulletproof problem solver who can tackle challenges that others balk at.

Think Smarter: Critical Thinking to Improve Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Skills. This book is the comprehensive guide to training your brain to do more for you. Written by a critical thinking trainer and coach, the book presents a pragmatic framework and set of tools to apply critical thinking techniques to everyday business issues.

Cracked it!: How to solve big problems and sell solutions like top strategy consultants. In this book, seasoned strategy professors and consultants Bernard Garrette, Corey Phelps and Olivier Sibony present a rigorous and practical four-step approach to overcome these pitfalls. Building on tried-and-tested (but rarely revealed) methods of top strategy consultants, research in cognitive psychology, and the latest advances in design thinking, they provide a step-by-step process and toolkit that will help readers tackle any challenging business problem.

Effective Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Course by the University of California. Learn how to use analysis, synthesis, and positive inquiry to address individual and organizational problems and develop the critical thinking skills needed in today’s turbulent times. Using case studies and situations encountered by class members, explore successful models and proven methods that are readily transferable on-the-job.

Computational Thinking for Problem Solving by the University of Pennsylvania. In this course, you will learn about the pillars of computational thinking, how computer scientists develop and analyze algorithms, and how solutions can be realized on a computer using the Python programming language. By the end of the course, you will be able to develop an algorithm and express it to the computer by writing a simple Python program.

Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving Course by RITx. This course will demystify, discuss, and provide application techniques for critical thinking and problem-solving in a business context. Learners will draw connections to their work experience by analyzing and critiquing case studies. Best practices for problem-solving will be discussed and illustrated including how to weigh alternative solutions, incorporate feedback from stakeholders, and how and when to start over.

Lean Problem-Solving for Team Members and Leaders. This short course provides the basic skills and philosophy of effective problem solving. It is based on 45 years of experience developing teams and implementing lean management.