Are we solving the right problems
- 1. Are We Solving the Right Problems ? MUNIR A. SHAKIR SR. MANAGER SUPPLY CHAIN THE CRESCENT TEXTILE MILLS FAISALABAD, PK A PRESENTATION BASED ON ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN HBR (HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW) JAN. 2017
- 2. LEARNING OUTCOMES SORT THE PROBLEMS IN A NEW WAY. CONSIDER THE NEW ASPECTS OF SOLUTIONS. TRY UNORTHODOX APPROACHES TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS. REFRAME YOUR PROBLEM TO TACKLE IT NICELY.
- 3. Consider a situation You are the owner of an office building, and your tenants are complaining about the elevator. Its old and slow, and they have to wait a lot. Several tenants will break their leases if you don’t fix the problem. What solution you will recommend for it ?
- 4. Expected Solution Install a new lift. Upgrade the motor. Improve the algorithm.
- 5. What will happen if You ask to put TV in waiting queue area. or You ask to play trending music there or You ask to install a hand sanitizer there Will this help to address the real problem?
- 6. Most of us will answer in Above measures will surely never solve the arisen problem but can deflect the flow…… Sometimes, such reframing of problem can work !! “BIG NO”
- 7. So try to reframe problems and apply an “UNORTHODOX” approach to solve it …. There are seven practices by which we can reframe our problem to solve it smoothly and in finest way.
- 8. 1. ESTABLISH LEGITIMACY Make a problem-solution methodology acceptable to all stake-holders by discussion and cross-talks.
- 9. 2. BRING OUTSIDERS INTO THE DISCUSSION Involve some outside participant to hit upon a new idea with a different perspective. E-g. If Managers of supply chain are discussing about the solution some problem, they can involve finance team to take part in the exploration of the solution. This process usually works efficiently and solution comes in very short span of time.
- 10. 3. GET PEOPLE’S DEFINATIONS IN WRITING. Ask people to bring their understanding of problem in writings by Sending confidential e-mails to managers. Sending enveloped sentences. Sending fax or other communication ways. It will explore other stakeholders way of understanding of problem and the best solution, they think.
- 11. 4. ASK WHAT’S MISSING. Try to conclude the aspects of problem we are missing on the way to solve it.
- 12. 5. CONSIDER MULTIPLE CATEGORIES Categorize your problem and focus on every aspect. Try to explore; why are our plans getting fail? Focus on organizational as well behavioral aspects of problem-solving.
- 13. 6. ANALYZE POSITIVE EXCEPTIONS Recall the elevator example again. If You conclude that the situation of elevator is normal on Sundays and tenants have no complain about that day, it is surely happen due to following exceptions: On Sunday, flow of workers remain very low and no rush is reported. It will open a new aspect of problem that “ it happens due to the “exit times” of tenants and it can be solved just by shuffle the time table of tenants.
- 14. 7. QUESTION THE OBJECTIVE Two people were fighting over whether to keep a window open or closed. The goals of both of them were different: one person wants fresh air, while the other wants to avoid a draft. Only when these hidden objectives are brought to light through the questions of a third person is the problem resolved – by opening a window in the next room.
- 15. QUESTIONS