- Abraham Maslow
Truly problems are actually an invitation to solutions, but problem solving is both a skill and a mindset, and the good news is that both can be developed. So in the next couple of weeks we will explore the matter of problem solving. Our start point is the definition of a problem. Albert Einstein said “if I had one hour to save the world I would spend 55 minutes defining the problem and only 5 minutes finding the solution. This is simply because your definition of a problem determines your perspective and approach to solving it, thus a wrong definition produces a wrong perspective and approach.
A young couple decided to start their own business. He was an engineer and she was an advertising copywriter. They bought a small salmon cannery in Alaska. They soon discovered they had a problem. Customers opening a can of their salmon discovered that the fish was gray. Sales dropped. Investigation revealed that the problem was a result of the way they processed the fish. "This is a technical problem," said the wife, "and you're an engineer. You have to find a way to fix this." Thus, the husband being an engineer set out to solve “the technical problem”, a month later, the husband announced that they would have to replace some machinery and make other changes. It was going to take at least 10 months to do the job and it was going to cost a lot of money. "We have to do something sooner than that," said the wife, "or we're going to go under." For the next two days she pondered and came up with another definition of the problem: “this is a labeling problem”, there was nothing wrong with the salmon--it tasted fine. The problem lay in its looks. So she changed the label on the can. In bold letters, right under the brand name, the labels thereafter announced, "The only salmon guaranteed not to turn pink in the can." Sales picked up again.
Definitions have a way of changing your perspective on a matter, while some people define their problems as obstacles, stumbling blocks, insurmountable, impossible etc, other define the same problems as stepping stones, learning experiences, and so on.
Friends before jumping right into solving your next “problem” take a step back and invest time and effort to improve your understanding of the nature of the problem and properly defining it. This may just be the secret to solving that seemingly gigantic problem before you.
