Picture credit - SanzuBusinessTraining
Day 42 - Problem Solving Skill
21 May 2020
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sirurp@gmail.com
My learning for the day
Today I want to summarise two books on problem-solving skills. Grateful to Jake Corage for his blog - ‘Our top 5 books on problem solving’
Book 1 - Problem Solving 101
Author - Ken Watanabe
What’s interesting is where Watanabe found this approach: in Japanese schools. It is a children’s book but a treasure for adults.
The three case studies
Watanabe uses three fun and simple-to-follow case studies to illustrate various practical tools and methods you can start using straight away.
- The Mushroom Lovers, a new band trying to improve their concert attendance numbers
- John Octopus, a bright young man with aspirations of becoming a computer graphics animator who needs to buy his first computer
- Kiwi, an aspiring soccer player looking for the best training school in Brazil
The five types of us
Ken says we should aspire to move from the following four to become a Problem Solving Kid
Miss Sigh - “I’ll never be able to do that. I’m just not that talented.”, “I’m not going to try. What if I fail? Everyone will make fun of me!”, “I blame my parents. I blame society. I blame you!” “Nobody understands me. Nobody cares about me. Everybody is out to get me.”
Mr Critic - “Well, that definitely won’t work. What a stupid idea!”, “I told you that would get screwed up. It’s all your fault.”, “Come on, I told you what you needed to do. Why can’t you get it done?”
Miss Dreamer - “I want to write a novel!”• “Wouldn’t it be great if I started my own business?”, “I want to be a doctor when I grow up.”, “I’m an idea person. Don’t bother me with the nitty gritty details!”
Mr Go-Getter - “I’ll never give up. I’ve got to overcome this challenge!”, “I’ve got to try harder! I can’t stop now!”, “I know this will work if I just put in a little more effort.”, “Why stop to think? That’s just a waste of time. Everything is about execution!”
The problem solving kid - “Okay! I’m going to accomplish this within three months.”, “This is a problem, but rather than worrying about it, I’m going to figure out what I can do about it.”, “So what really caused this?”, “To fix this, we’re going to need to do X, Y, and Z. Let’s try them out.”, “So how did this work out? What went wrong? Is there a way we could do this better next time”
The four step formula
(1) understand the current situation (break down the problem so you can identify strategies to tackle each piece separately); (2) identify the root cause of the problem; (3) develop an effective action plan; and (4) execute until the problem is solved, making modifications as necessary
Author - Rolf Dobelli
One of the greatest challenges we face when solving problems is our own mind. We are prone to many cognitive biases; more than 180 of them.
Dobelli has gathered 99 errors common to us where we systematically err in the same direction. He provides short, amusing and pithy insights into their form and causes. Just being aware of them will make you a better problem solver by helping you to recognise and avoid your own blind spots.
Here are the top 5 of the 99 errors -
Social Proof - Herd mentality; mindlessly following the route set by predecessors
Sunk Cost Fallacy - So often in business, there is the sense that having invested so much, it would be wrong to stop now. Stopping now, makes the investment seem a mistake. The infamous sunk cost fallacy about the Vietnam War - ‘We’ve already sacrificed so much for this war; it would be a mistake to give up now.’
Reciprocity - A supplier of screws invites a potential customer to join him at a big sports game. A month later, it’s time to order screws. The desire not to be in debt is so strong that the buyer gives in and places an order with his new friend.
Contrast Effect - People will walk an extra ten minutes to save $ 10 on food. The same people, however would not walk ten minutes to save $ 10 on a $ 1,000 suit
Chauffeur Knowledge - We need to know if we are listening to the real knowledge holder or the chauffeur. This is based on the famous story of Max Planck and his Chauffeur.
What is Problem-Solving Skill?
Problem-Solving Skill is the ability to determine the source of a problem and find an effective solution.
My learning so far on this topic
Day 2 post - ‘5 Whys Analysis’ to find the root of a problem
Day 12 post - Design thinking. Two stories about design thinking in action
Day 22 post - Fishbone diagram to find root cause to a problem
Day 32 post - Two TED talks - Collaborative visualisation, The trolley problem (ethical dilemma), and a note on who decides the ethics of self driving cars
How to improve this skill?
Set a goal to become a go-to person by mastering the art and science of problem solving.
Follow the LAST model to build your personal brand as a Guru of problem solving.
Learn - Invest time in learning different frameworks/ models/ techniques of problem solving
Apply -
Identify a model suitable to you
Create a template to document the flow of the process
Find opportunities to use the selected method/ template
Maintain record/ process flow of every important activities you did with respect to problem solving
Maintain notes of your thoughts/ insights/ failures/ challenges…. to be used for sharing/ training others
Share - Share the insights captured in step 2 above in a planned manner (social media posts, blogs, videos, study notes…)
Train - Generate opportunities to train your peers and team members so that, over time, your organization benefits from your efforts
Purpose of this document
I took a 66 day challenge to study Life Skills last year (10 April 2019). To my astonishment, I succeeded in studying for 66 days one skill a day.
My objectives of learning these skills were - To strengthen my mind to face life’s challenges with ease, To use these skills in my worklife for a better performance, To use these skills in my personal life for enriching my relationships, To open new possibilities to surprise myself.
This is my next 66 day challenge (from 10 April 2020) - To share my Life Skills learning with my social media friends.
I pray that my toil helps you in your success journey.
What are Life Skills?
UNICEF defines Life skills as - psychosocial abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life. They are loosely grouped into three broad categories of skills
- cognitive skills for analyzing and using information,
- personal skills for developing personal agency and managing oneself,
- inter-personal skills for communicating and interacting effectively with others.
Which LifeSkills are covered?
The World Health Organisation identified these basic areas of life skills that are relevant across cultures:
1. Decision-making
2. Problem-solving
3. Creative thinking
4. Critical thinking
5. Communication
6. Interpersonal skills
7. Self-awareness
8. Empathy
9. Coping with emotions
10. Coping with stress.
Some trivia
‘Life skills’ was never part of the school curriculum. WHO/ UNESCO mandated academia to teach these skills in all schools across the globe in 1993.
Different countries educate their children in these skills with different objectives
- Zimbabwe and Thailand - prevention of HIV/AIDS
- Mexico - prevention of adolescent pregnancy
- United Kingdom - child abuse prevention
- USA - prevention of substance abuse and violence
- South Africa and Colombia - positive socialization of children.
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