Problem solving
To solve a problem you need to understand the problem.
Understanding comes at all sorts of places:
Opinions
We all have opinions, mental models of how things work and people behave. Our opinions help us box off and make sense of the world.
Data
Numbers and patterns. Information that helps us see how behaviour and performance change of time. Numbers and patterns that let us work out cause and effect relationships.
Observations
Things that we have actually seen. Facts from the shop floor. The detail of how customers and employees feel and behave. The facts that challenge the data.
Use all three
Understanding doesn’t come from any single place.
- Opinions without data can be flat-out wrong
- Data without observations can mislead
- Observation without opinion is just sight-seeing
To understand a problem you need at least three perspectives (maybe more):
- Opinions to challenge
- Data to predict
- Observations to refine
It isn’t enough…
To stare at charts in presentations and cast edicts from a meeting room.
If you want to solve a problem you have to understand it. To understand it you have to go and look.
You can’t transform something you don’t understand ~ Annette Franz
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Image by A Cromwell
Thanks, James, for including my quote. I agree… there are many different ways to understand. And, to your point, you often need different sources and perspectives to get the full picture.
Maybe any perspective would be good Annette…
And it is a great quote :)