Bumps and Dips on the Path to Solving your Problem [Matt Schlegel]

In past blogs I have described a problem-solving process. When I describe it, it is a nice smooth process flowing from one step to the next. Funny thing is, when you use the process in practice, it may not be so smooth. What if we could look down the path to anticipate likely bumps and dips in the process. We may not be able to avoid those obstacles, but we can brace ourselves to move through them. In this blog I will describe a method to let my fellow problem solvers identify in advance those bumps and dips.

People tend to play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. Your problem-solving team is comprised of people and their various strengths and weaknesses. Depending on where you are in the problem-solving process, your team members will resonate or not with the phase at hand. If the phase requires a strength that is absent in your team, the team can get stuck and have trouble moving to the next phase. If the team is overrepresented by a particular strength, again the team can get stuck or repeatedly go back to the overrepresented step.

The figure illustrates a team that is generally well represented by team members with various strengths, but has an underrepresentation in the Get It Done Step (step 7) and over representation in the Identify the Problem Step (step 1). What can happen in this case is that team would move around the process to the point of underrepresentation, get stuck, and then move back to the overrepresented step, a discussion about what is wrong, without ever taking the action to solve the problem.



This is just one example. You can see that depending on your team make-up, there can be any number of bumps and dips encountered as you move around the process. It is important for the facilitator of process to understand the team make-up, anticipate the trouble spots, and ensure that the team can move through the obstacle. In the example above, the facilitator needs to clearly identify the Driver role in step 7 and ensure that that role is filled with a willing and able team member. Also, when the team restarts the discussion about the problem, the facilitator needs pull the team back on track by reminding the team that a problem statement already exists.

As I work with teams and see how the strengths and weaknesses influence progress, I realize that there are many well-known clichés that describe these bumps and dips. To name a few: paralysis by analysis, half baked idea, heart in the right place, look before you leap, etc. On your problem-solving teams, what bumps and dips have you encountered and what clichés have come to mind?


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Matt Schlegel developed his problem-solving methodology over the past decade. He continues to use the process to help companies solve big challenges, and folds those experiences into the refinement of the process. He also consults for companies developing products jointly with Asian companies. Matt can be found at www.sakinoconsulting.com.