PRACTICE BLAMELESS PROBLEM SOLVING.

Focus on solutions rather than pointing fingers or dwelling on problems. Pointing out fires is not the same as putting out fires. Identify lessons learned and use those lessons to improve ourselves and our processes so we don’t make the same mistake twice. Get smarter with every mistake. Learn from every experience.

Problems happen. And it’s a good thing too because none of us would have a job in there weren’t problems that need to be solved. I heard of a banner once, in the board room of a distributor. It said, “No problems? No profits!” At Stellar, our very existence is to help customers solve problems and improve processes and outcomes.

When a problem occurs, it’s natural and easy to commence the search for blame. Resist that temptation! Problem solving takes energy and focus. So does the search for blame. You can do one or the other, but I prefer to put the energy in to effective problem solving. Assigning blame does exactly zero to address the issue. I’ve said for years about internal problems, blame me instantly and let’s move to the solve part!

Some people behave as if pointing out a problem is sufficient; they may even offer a ‘who’s to blame’ answer. These people are NOT fire fighters, they are fire lighters and/or fire accelerators, pouring on gas. Actually putting out fires involves working together as a team to understand the problem or what went wrong and then working to improve processes, communication and collaboration to improve that thing (see FOW Week #16: Be Relentless About Improvement). Folks who engage in effective problem resolution work very hard to understand the root cause(s) and to implement effective changes that mitigate the odds of the same mistakes happening again.

Learning is iterative. In life, folks that learn from their mistakes and bad decisions are ultimately referred to as wise (it takes a long time). Folks who do not apply lessons learned from their mistakes and bad decisions are referred to as stuck – or worse! Let’s continue to learn and strive to become an ever-wiser organization.