Many business professionals spend a great deal of their day problem-solving. And what I find really interesting is that the amount of time they’re spending fixing things seems to be on the increase!
Why is that? Well, there are several reasons, but one that is particularly important is this…
The problem they are spending oh so much time fixing is not the real problem!
We’ve gotten into the habit of doing everything at great speed. You would think, then, that problems are identified and then quickly sorted out.
But the problems we see on first glance are rarely the actual trouble. They are usually symptoms of an underlying system breakdown. Just like getting rid of a fever does not address the infection, focusing resources on superficial problems will never take care of the causal factors.
The problems will repeat themselves and suck up even more time, energy and money unless we slow down long enough to identify what is really going on.
Action – The next time you notice a problem, do not simply say “how can I fix it?” Instead, ask this question – “what system is failing, or missing, that is allowing this to happen?”
And if necessary, keep asking that same question until you get to the root of the problem.