1. Identify the REAL problem
- Be clear and specific and make sure that all the right people are in the room to help you define the problem correctly.
2. Understand the problem
- It’s one thing to define a problem it’s another to understand it completely.
- Use the 5 Whys to help you get to the root cause of the issue.
- Do you have all the information you need to consider every variable? What do you need to fill the gaps?
3. Identify all the possible solutions
- List and evaluate every possible solution along with what you think the outcome will be for each one and what it will take to execute on them.
- Again you need to ask yourself are all the right people in the room to help you get to the right solution?
4. MAKE A DECISION
- Choose a solution and assign someone to get it done.
5. Do and Review
- Once you’ve chosen your solution don’t just set and forget.
- Evaluate it and if it didn’t work then you need to get back in the room, ask why and test a different solution.
- If the problem is successfully solved, then you can take those learnings and apply them to other parts of the business.
Following these steps will help you get to a solution quickly and effectively every time.
Download the Active_Directions_Problem Solving Checklist to get started.