Ingredientsoflogicalproblemsolving

Collectively, it’s important to develop a working environment in which talented people keep their intellectual curiosity, practice critical thinking, broaden thoughts and connect wider dots for coming up with alternative solutions to tough problems and reach such a state of dynamic balance.

The world becomes hyper-connected, many problems are complex and interdependent. Problem-solving today has a very wide scope, intricate factors and needs to take an interdisciplinary approach. 

We all develop reputations for being problem creators, problem definers, or problem solvers. To close decision making gaps and build problem-solving competency, it is important to always dig underneath the surface, find root causes of problems, and clarify crucial ingredients in logical problem-solving.

 

Relativism implies an ability to balance other parts of the equation and reflect the sort of dynamic balance in problem-solving: Given the complexity and uncertainty of the digital world and given the fallacies of individual decision-making, more often than not, lack of insight leads to poor decision-making. Every complex problem can be considered to be a symptom of another problem. Solve problems really matter and solve them in the right way.

It is important to assess the digital relevance of critical business issues and ensure the organization is on the right track to build problem solving competency for the long term. A good solution can solve a complex problem effectively; a great solution can solve a series of relevant problems smoothly. Keep information relevant and knowledge update based on “quality data,” which means clean, organized, actionable data from which to extract relevant information and capture unique insight.

Collectivism implies an ability to embrace collective intelligence by taking team activities such as brainstorming, collective learning, debating & decision-making: Solving complex problem is challenging, teams, especially with the heterogeneous team setting, work because they bring different perspectives and knowledge to the table, help to balance out the biases from which the poor decisions are made.

The real value in the “group-based activities,” when done properly, is that it enables you to bring a diverse population together and a collective pool of all the expertise at the discussion table. So an essential role for collective problem-solving is the need to leverage quality information, diversity of thoughts, variety of differences, enriched knowledge context, connect ideas but also people, collectively engage with others for collaborative and creative problem-solving.

Contextualization implies abilities to both understand the problem from different angles and solve them smoothly: There are macro-problems and micro-problems; strategic problems and tactical problems. If every problem is like a jigsaw puzzle, can you envision the big picture and diagnose the real problem, not just symptoms? If the situation is very natural and fluid, with a lot of interdependencies, there needs to be a better appreciation to examine a situation.

It takes a holistic view to see the problem from different angles, gain contextual understanding of interdependence, interaction and interrelationship of different problems, fix the misperception by exploring multiple thought processes; willing to listen to the diverse viewpoints, see both the forest and the trees in order to solve chains of problems thoroughly.

Business leaders and professionals need to keep sharpening problem-solving skills, and build a good reputation as insightful problem-solvers. Effective organizations take commitment and discipline to stay focused on the real priorities of the business instead of being distracted by what seems to be more urgent on any given day. Collectively, it’s important to develop a working environment in which talented people keep their intellectual curiosity, practice critical thinking, broaden thoughts and connect wider dots for coming up with alternative solutions to tough problems and reach such a state of dynamic balance.

Posted in: Problem Solving