Creative Solutions to Everyday Problems by Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC
When it comes to problems in the workplace, leaders often find themselves plagued by the same issues on a regular basis. When you find yourself staring the same problem in the face that you’ve dealt with over and over, it might be time to look for a more creative solution.
The reason we often face the same problems over and over is because the traditional solution isn’t truly a long-term solution. This means that you may need to get creative on a regular basis to ensure that your business evolves to handle issues in ways that have meaning for the current situation.
Here are some tips to help you be more creative with the problems that crop up in the workplace.
• Reverse engineer the problem. Sometimes, working backwards is the way to find the best solution. Working backward allows you to view the problem from a different perspective, which can get your creative juices flowing.
• Ask someone who is unfamiliar with the problem to help you solve it. Sometimes, when we’ve been dealing with an issue for a long time, we actually become blind to solutions that might be evident to others who are not so involved. Try running the problem by someone completely uninvolved and un-invested; like your spouse, to get a fresh perspective.
• Consider the fact that it might not be a problem you can solve. Sometimes, when something becomes a burden to us, we feel the need to solve it. However, accepting something as part of a “cost of doing business” can be the best way to deal with it. When you begin to accept a situation as part of your everyday business life, you give yourself the freedom to provide the resources needed to manage the issue, rather than trying to solve it altogether.
Different problems require different solutions and different perspectives. There is no single strategy to overcoming business problems. The key to finding the right solution lies mostly in the willingness to be open to different answers as well as being open to different ways of finding those solutions.