Problem Solving Tool - Step 7: Git’er Done [Matt Schlegel]

Finally, finally, FINALLY! – finally, we are at the step in the process where we actually DO something. We have been talking, talking, talking – all we have done is talk in circles. Now, we finally get to the DOING. It is hard to believe that we have spent so much time thinking and talking. What a waste of time! Let’s get down to the business of solving the problem. Let’s git’er done.

Know anyone who might say that?

Well, they are correct. To this point I have described 6 steps, none of which have actually solved the problem. Furthermore, to describe those steps, I have written 9 blogs. In all that, we really haven’t “done” a thing to solve the problem itself. Can you imagine the time and patience a team would have to go through to get to this point without actually jumping in to solve the problem? It is very tough to imagine for the git’er-done person who spoke in the first paragraph. Well, what have we accomplished? This is a good time to summarize:

1. We have described the problem and established goals
2. We have built a team and defined the roles and responsibilities of its members
3. We have generated a rich set of creative ideas from which to draw
4. We have analyzed those ideas and uncovered the costs and benefits of each
5. We have built a plan around the best set of ideas that will meet the goals, solve the problem
6. And, we have obtained permission to execute that plan

So, yes, while that has been mostly talking, the team has laid the foundation upon which to successfully implement a solution to the problem, and that foundation has buy-in from the stakeholders who have committed the resources necessary to accomplish the goals.

Start Small

Practically speaking, the implementation step often takes the most time. In fact, depending on the goals the team has set out to accomplish, this phase could take more time than the first six steps combined. During this implementation phase, I have found that starting small and building on successes is a great recipe to keep up the momentum. For instance, when implementing solutions that will affect a company’s product development process, I advise the team to pick just one project and prototype the solution with only that one product development team. Working with that one team, you can learn what works and what doesn’t. You can develop the materials you will need to communicate the solutions to other teams. And you can demonstrate the positive effects that the solutions have on the product development outcome. All of this makes it just that much easier for each successive product development team to adopt the solution. After a while, all the teams are using the proposed solution, mitigating the problem and accomplishing the goal.

Git’er done

And, if you know someone who might say what I wrote in the first paragraph, they may be a good candidate to take the lead during this phase of the problem-solving process. This phase is about action and the ideal person is an action-oriented leader, perhaps a team stakeholder with a program management background, who will drive the implementation and not be afraid to ruffle a few feathers along the way if that is what it takes. And, whenever you try to accomplish something big and important, feathers will be ruffled. I will address this issue in the next blog.

Matt Schlegel has a bias toward actions and has been reminded, on occasion, that he is a human “being” not a human “doing.”