As we begin a new year in 2013, you and I have many blessings to count from 2012. Looking back, one of the cool things about last year for me was the advisory work I did with global executives in finance and strategy across a number of industries. You can learn a lot from working with people committed to solving problems. At the very least, you pick up on creative ways to describe problems and frame solutions. Here are a couple of sidebar examples:
- “Let me add color” is a creative way to say that you’d like to elaborate on a point, expand on a theme, or provide more details.
- “Let’s try not to have solutions chasing problems” is a careful way to critique a proposed solution that doesn’t get to the root cause of the problem at hand.
When you really think about it, problem solving is a key part of our lives every year– whether at work, home, or school. A balanced life can be viewed as a daily exercise in problem solving to manage life’s pains and pleasures. To help you and I lead a more balanced life in 2013, we’ll need some equations. Equations? Yeah, equations can help us figure out what the right relationship should be between a given quantity (the known factor) and a quantity yet to be determined (the unknown factor).
How can figuring out the right relationships between known and unknown factors lead to a balanced life? I’m glad you asked. See, it all goes back to problem solving. At the root cause level, a problem only exists when we are not sure what the right relationship should be between a known factor and an unknown factor. Once we figure out the right relationships between known and unknown factors of a specific problem, then that problem is on its way to being solved. Yes, it’s really that simple, but it’s not always easy.
Here are some pointers to help:
- Problem: Getting Things Done to Meet An Important Deadline
- Equation: The pleasure of procrastination -plus- the pain of regret in missing the deadline is at least two times more painful than the pain of discipline in meeting the deadline.
- Problem: Keeping Your Promise to A Loved One
- Equation: The pleasure of reneging on your promise is at least three times less than the pleasure of peace of mind from honoring your promise.
- Problem: Following Your Dreams
- Equation: The pain of failure after trying is at least five times less than the pain of knowing that you didn’t even try.
Happy New Year 2013!
Better yet, happy problem solving.
