by Chuck Holmes

Several years ago, generally fed up with what everyone perceived as the role of manager, I went to the door of my office and shouted down the hall, “Don’t bring me any more problems. Bring me some solutions.”

Like a lot of managers, I had my fill of problems. Unfortunately, this approach to problem-solving didn’t work. I had new problems to deal with before the noise died.

Later, I learned it wasn’t whether you had problems to deal with (everybody does), but how you deal with them that makes the difference. In this article, we’ll look at a three-question method for reducing the number of problems you deal with and a three-step model for dealing with the problems that are left.

You can sort out a lot of so-called problems by asking two questions: Is it a problem? Is it a problem I need to solve?

Is it a problem?
You may have run into a situation like this. Thirty days ago, you put a salesman on probation. There’s been no improvement, and today you have to fire him. You’re sitting at your desk, chewing over the “problem.”

Problem is, you’re not really dealing with a problem; you’re dealing with an unpleasant circumstance. All stewing over it does is increase your gastric acidity.

IDHAC (I don’t have a choice) and problem are mutually exclusive terms. If there is no choice, there is no problem and any time you spend trying to solve it is wasted. In the example above — firing the salesman — the best thing is to do what is required and move on to something else.

You solve problems. You simply accommodate circumstances.

Is it a problem I need to solve?
It seems any problem (or perceived problem) tagged sales, salesperson or customer automatically attaches itself to the sales manager. Consequently, sales managers spend too much time reacting to problems.

Take Peter Drucker’s advice. He said, “Resources, to produce results, must be allocated to opportunities.”

Time and mental energies are among your most limited resources. If you spend all your resources on problems, you won’t have anything left for opportunities.

Before tackling a problem, ask two questions: Is it worth solving? Is it my problem? Some problems simply aren’t worth the bother; the benefits of solving them don’t pay for the time spent on them.

One distributor thought his salespeople were using the company’s phones for personal calls, some of them long distance. He installed a system that provided a printout of every number called and the length of the call. He spent hours poring over the printouts. He even found a few personal calls. But he didn’t come close to paying for his time.

Yet, there’s something programmed into us that says if there’s a problem, there must be a solution. Probably. But, so what? Your time is valuable and should be spent where you get the greatest return.

The second question is whether — given you are dealing with a problem important enough to be solved — you are the one to solve it. People problems coming up from the ranks should be shoved right back down to the ranks.

For instance, an inside salesperson and an outside salesperson in a distributorship were having a communication problem regarding orders from customers. The outside salesperson wanted the inside salesperson to report any significant orders from his customers to him. The manager’s first impulse was to figure out a system, call both of them into his office, and tell them how it should be done.

His second (and better) impulse was to call both of them in, tell them he understood the problem, and since they were the ones with the greatest interest in a successful solution, have them come up with one. He gave them a date to report back with the solution.

Not only did the sales manager save the time he would have spent working on the problem, he also gave the salespeople an opportunity to do something about their own jobs and devise a solution they would own.

Am I solving the right problem?
Too often, we spend time trying to solve the symptom of a problem. The CEO comes in waving a sheaf of computer printouts.

“We’ve got a problem,” he says. “Our sales are down.”

You translate that to say, “The problem is our sales are down.”

Keep in mind that if the problem is properly identified, it will point to its own solution. In the example above, it’s obvious if the problem is that sales are down, the solution is to increase sales. That doesn’t give you a very clear action plan.

If the solution indicated by the problem doesn’t direct you to an action, just keep asking why. Buried somewhere under the symptoms is a real problem.

An over simplified problem-solving model
Assuming that you are dealing with a real problem that you should deal with yourself, and that you have properly defined it, there is a simple and useful method for solving it. It consists of three steps.

1) Envision the ideal solution.

2) Determine what prevents you from arriving at that solution.

3) Create a plan for removing the impediments.

It’s a process called “backward planning” that involves looking at a problem much as you look at a map. When plotting a route, you start where you are, then look at where you want to go, and only then worry about what roads take you there.

It sounds simple, but if you spend enough time on Step 1, expect unexpected results.

The accompanying fictionalized account illustrates how a sales manager put both questions and the model to work.

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