How do you rate as a problem solver?

If you kept accurate tabs on your workday, you would probably find that at least 75 percent of your time and energy are devoted to solving problems. Many are minor, to be sure, and relatively routine. Others--the ones that require ingenuity and a summoning of all the resources at your command--are major, often one-of-a-kind mind bogglers.

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All of your problems, regardless of their size, must be solved in one way or another. And how adept you are in solving them, or contributing to their solution, largely determines your value to your organization.

So, how good a problem solver are you? The following quiz should give you a pretty good idea.

 1. Do you view a problem as a barrier to getting your work done or,
    more realistically, as part of the work for which you are
    responsible?
 2. Do you customarily try to break a big problem down into a series of
    manageable smaller problems, then tackle them one at a time?
 3. Considering your major areas of responsibility, what are your
    strengths (where are problems least likely to occur?) Why?
 4. Have you ever tried to analyze those strengths and apply them to the
    more troublesome areas?
 5. Do you assign reasonable priorities to your problems, or do you
    consider every problem a crisis of the same magnitude?
 6. Are you in the habit of carrying a notebook at all times so that you
    can capture that sudden inspiration before it vanishes forever?
 7. Are you a patient, flexible, open-minded person?
 8. Are you suspicious of simple solutions to complex problems?
 9. Do you tackle a problem as soon as you are aware of it, or do you
    tend to avoid working at it as long as possible in the hope that it
    will somehow take care of itself.
10. What is your greatest problem-solving strength (e.g., getting the
    facts, delegating responsibilities for solving parts of a problem,
    attention to detail, etc.)?
11. Conversely, what is your greatest weakness?
12. What do you do to counterbalance this weakness?
13. Do you panic under pressure and, consequently, reach for any
    solution--or do you realize that answers may not come for a while
    and remain capable of doing other work while the problem simmers on
    a low burner in your brain?
14. When a problem has you baffled, do you panic or back up and try to
    look at it in a new way?
15. Have you noticed any pattern in your problem-solving record that
    might indicate the method that works best for you? Some people are
    at their best in the morning, others are at their best in a
    discussion with other people, and some people even do their best
    thinking while showering.
16. Do you think twice before discarding a potential solution? Sometimes
    a seemingly unworkable idea is more viable than it first appears-or
    can be, with a little tinkering.
17. When a solution to a problem doesn't work out, do you discard it
    entirely or do you see what parts of it may be salvaged, modified,
    or amended?
18. Do you ever cross functional lines to get the thinking of others who
    may view your problem from a fresh perspective?
19. Are you familiar enough with the processes of logic so that you can
    spot faulty reasoning before it is allowed to work its mischief?
20. Do you use a pencil to "visualize" problems, reducing them to
    numbers when possible, listing the choices open to you, or otherwise
    taking advantage of doodling your way to an answer?
21. Just because you have never used a certain approach to similar
    prolems, do you reject it out of hand when facing a problem?
22. Are you liberal in sharing the credit for solving a problem with
    those who worked with you on it? Those who don't share the glory
    usually find it difficult to get others to cooperate next time
    around.
23. When a problem has you running in circles, do you recognize that
    frustration is part of the problem-solving process, or do you take
    out your frustrations on those around you?
24. Do you read outside your field of ordinary interest, always on the
    lookout for data that may, with only a little modification, help you
    solve a problem?
25. When possible, do you try your solution on a trial basis first?

Take Advantage of Your Best Hours

Some of us are larks--at our best in the morning hours; others are owls--better in the afternoon. If you leap out of bed at the start of the day, your best time is probably in the morning. If you don't feel like yourself before 11 a.m., your best time is probably in the afternoon.

Schedule your most difficult work for one period or the other. You'll slice many minutes off the time it otherwise might take to complete this work. You may even find it worthwhile to rearrange your entire working schedule, depending on your particular circumstances:

Five Ways To Better Visual Aids 

As a general rule, visual aids can add interest, clarity and drama to a speech. But ill-conceived, poorly planned visuals can ruin an otherwise effective presentation. If you plan to involve your audience's eyes as well as its ears, these suggestions should help you avoid the most common traps:

1. Be sure your visual is visible. A drawing or chart that cannot be seen beyond the second row will not strengthen what you are saying. To the contrary, it will detract from your message.

2. Keep it simple. Make sure no irrelevant details are included. For example, a map of the United States showing its major rivers should not also include its mountains, cities, lakes or weather patterns.

3. Check your facilities in advance. Plan for every contingency. If you need an electric outlet, make sure one is conveniently located. If you intend to use a blackboard, have chalk and an eraser.

4. Don't forget your audience. Concentrate on your listeners, not on your materials. Position yourself so that you can use the visual aid while facing the audience.

5. Don't overdo it. The more elaborate your visual, the more likely it will "smother" your message. An additional pitfall: the more complicated a visual aid, the more things can go wrong with it.

Tap Your People's Idea Banks

Because of their diverse backgrounds and experiences, your people represent a potentially deep reservoir of creativity that you ought to be tapping regularly for good ideas.

If you are not, try encouraging them to submit ideas by reminding them of the advantages: Management recognition, job improvements and other research often result from good suggestions. Encourage those who repeatedly submit suggestions--they represent a particularly precious resource. And be sure to follow up on a suggestion, especially if it is an employee's first.

If you are convinced that the suggestion is impractical, explain why and encourage the employees to try again.

If you see merit in the suggestion, do whatever you can to help make the idea even more worthwhile.

If in doubt about the usefulness of a suggestion, discuss it with someone who is qualified to give you a second opinion.

Try to report back to the employee on the suggestion as soon as possible.

In short, demonstrate that you prize good ideas, and your people will reward you with more of them.

How To Get People To Do What You Want

What appears to be employee lack of cooperation is sometimes really a case of insufficient motivation. The remedy: make your people want to do what you are asking them to do. Easier said than done? Perhaps. But there are techniques that work.

You can, for example, show an employee how he can realize an ambition of his own by cooperating with you. If he is looking for a promotion, you might point out that a cooperative spirit is one factor always considered when making recommendations.

You can appeal to the desire for approval. Everybody wants to be liked, complimented, appreciated. Convince subordinates that what you want them to do will help them win approval in some way and you will kindle their interest. "Here's an easy way to earn a reputation for dependability." "This will look mighty good in your personnel file." These are just a few examples of appealing to people's desire for approval.

You can also harness the competitive instinct. Runners invariably perform better when they are pitted against other runners than against a stop watch. Why? Because the very human desire to excel is best satisfied in live rivalry. An employee desires to turn out better work than his peers. Just about everybody would like to improve on his own past performance. Explain how an individual can realize either of these ambitions by doing what you want and you will create the proper motivation for cooperation.

How To Double Your Convention Coverage

Those who take their conventions, conferences and annual meetings seriously are often unhappy because one person just can't see, hear and discuss everything interesting or important. There are simply too many people to talk to and too many things going on and you just can't be in more than one place at a time.

Veteran convention-goers, however, have developed a trick that for all practical purposes does permit them to be in two places at the same time. If you're headed for a get-together, you can use it--provided you plan to write a report on the convention for your company or organization when you return.

What these people do is simply make arrangements with one or more fellow delegates to swap by mail copies of the post-convention reports that they turn in to their organizations. They usually try to get partners who hail from different areas, who have somewhat different interests and who move in different circles at the convention.

Try it. Those who regularly use the system say they often get twice as much information, sample twice as broad a cross-section of opinion, pick the brains of twice as many people and see everything that goes on from two different viewpoints. Sometimes, they say, you can hardly recognize in another individual's report the same convention you attended--so different are the conclusions, the emphases and the material gathered.

By Ted Pollock, Management Columnist 

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