How much do you think about any problem you face? Many people instantly rush into solution mode when they should spend a little time thinking about the problem and the impact of each potential solution available. With our fast-paced society it is easy not to think things through, this is not a matter of philosophy but does require some understanding.

People have a tendency to be reactive and do things based on spur of the moment decisions. Trouble is we often act without understanding the problem at hand. Rarely do we take time to understand the root cause of any problem; we fail to take time to think things through. If you have not given it enough thought then the chances are that you will not be using the right solution, its rather like taking a headache pill when you are suffering a headache - you are not looking for the root cause of the headache which could indicate a medical condition. Too frequently we seek the quick answer when more analysis is actually needed. The problem with the quick fix is that it treats the symptoms rather than finding the real problem, Most of the time this isn't a issue, but there are times when it clearly is. Do I really understand the problem I face? This should always be a question we should ask. Understanding Requires Analysis Have you analysed it deeply enough? This is frequently where solutions go wrong. People love to jump in and start to tinker, yet it may not be the best approach. I was looking at one such problem many years ago as a business consultant. All the client's staff 'knew' what to do to fix the problem, trouble was they were fixing the problem every week and wasting time in doing so. They did not think about looking for the root cause, the problem in the computer program, then resolve it - the net result was this wasted time continued for many years.

We were looking at changing some of the business processes when we stumbled on this almost by chance, even after we had a programmer change the code to cure the system problem employees still spent time double checking, showing the extent of the problem and how the fix was in-ground into people's minds, they had long since stopped trusting the computer. It also shows that lots of time is wasted by so many people, when the right person should be called immediately. In order to solve any problem we should perform a full analysis before attempting to change it. Understanding Requires Thought

Truth is we tend to do too many things without thinking through the consequences of the actions taken. Analysis and thinking a problem through are the twin towers to any problem solving approach. This is something we should make a more conscious effort with for all problems that we face.

If we do not know the fullest extent of the problem then it is essential we listen to those who are impacted on a daily basis, they often know best.

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Peter Giblett is a business consultant who has a passion for writing, published in a number of locations including 2 Drops of ink and Wikinut as well as a number of client websites. He is currently looking for new commissions to write for clients and can be reached at peter@giblett.com.