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Problem Solving – Execute and Measure

This is lesson four of the my little problem solving course. If you read the last post, you are probably expecting me to continue with further methods of idea creation. But more about these at another time. Let me explain you why. I am a fan of parallel progression, which means I don’t think a project or topic (in this case) has to be tackled at the beginning and worked through in full detail from the beginning to the end. I rather suggest to start working on all phases at the same time as much as possible.

Hence, I will give you a rough, nonetheless whole picture from the very beginning and refine it over time. This way you immediately see where I am going and you know at all times where we are at. You should also be able to apply what you read immediately since you know the big picture (see graphic below). The drawback of this method is of course that I have to promise you further details for a specific module until later.

Today’s lesson is about executing your solution. (more…)

December 20th, 2013|Tags: measure, problem solving, tracking|

Problem Solving – Planning Solutions Part 1

Welcome back to the third part of my Problem Solving 101. We reached the second phase of the UPEC process, the planning phase. By now you should have formulated your problem statement including your base conditions, which means by now you ideally fully understand your problem and everything that is involved.

Great, now you can start finding possible solutions. The next step would be to evaluate these solutions and decide for the best one. Then the third step is outlining a course of action and the fourth defining an ideal outcome and a minimal acceptable result (MAR). At last, you need to find a metric to track your progress before you reach the Execution-Phase where you finally start solving your problem according to plan.

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December 6th, 2013|Tags: problem solving|

How to Always Deliver and Never Lose Sight of The Big Picture

Running out of time, money or motivation are the main reasons for not delivering. In this post I will show you a method to make sure that doesn’t happen to you.

Would you say tying your shoelaces is difficult? A formidable craft? I hope not. It is not like we see someone on the street and admire his ability to tie his laces. “Nice bunny ears you’ve going on. Kudos!”

If we had to wear laced shoes every day, even if no one ever taught us how, I guess, we would come up with a method to get our laces tied and un-tied easily pretty soon.

The method this post is dedicated to is in its way similar. Almost embarrassingly simple, often a mere consequence of experience. But crucial if you want to always deliver, because you will always know where you are going.

I am all about the big picture, so forget all the nifty productivity tools and time management hacks for a moment. If you want to deliver then this one comes first. The best part is, I am a 100% sure you’ve used this method already. But here it is about doing it consciously and intentionally.

The key word is Parallel Progression. (more…)

November 22nd, 2013|Tags: big picture, parallel progression|

Problem Solving – Understanding Your Problem

Welcome to the second part of my Problem Solving series. How about you think about any problem you want to get solved right now? I will also think about one.

But before we can start coming up with ideas for how to solve our problems, we need to know what the problem actually is to make sure, we don’t solve the wrong problem.

In the previous post, I defined a problem as something which when solved makes a situation better. I hope that makes sense for you, because if you wouldn’t believe solving the problem improves anything, then why would you want to solve it in the first place?

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November 15th, 2013|Tags: problem solving, understanding|

Problem Solving Introduction

It is a plain and simple truth: Problems are an integral part of life, if we like it or not. And usually the more we do, the more problems we’ll have to face. You could say, the number of problems you have to overcome is a gauge of how active you are. Having problems is normal and actually a good sign.

Life is about solving problems and not about being productive for the “busy’s sake”.

The other good news is that we are born problem solvers. That is what we do from the moment we start to exist: We overcome obstacles. Thus, problems are nothing to hide from but a consequence of a successful life. The more problems we can check off, the farther we’ll go. The difference between doing really well in life and… well… just living, is that many of us stop at a certain point in life to seek out different pathways for how to approach obstacles. We have constructed our view of the world and how to “do stuff” and stick with it.

But problem solving is a skill like any other, which needs to be practiced continuously and can be improved by adding different approaches to our repertoire. With everything ever changing around us we need to keep up.

This course is designed to give you a methodology for finding solutions for any given problem. Because problems are very different and also the people solving them, I will present you with a variety of methods and different approaches that will help you to tackle all sorts of problems.

If you are doubtful whether this course has any benefit for you, because you are already pretty good at dealing with your problems, then I have two arguments for you.
Number one: This is what I thought for a very long time until I got to work with many people with very different backgrounds. So I learned that there is not only one truth and not only one way to do things. Some methods work and some don’t. It is all about having many options.
Number two: It is free. You’ll need some time for reading that is true. But the time investment may worth it, because reading through this course can save you time down the road. Opening up and listening to others still helps me to avoid a lot of trouble.

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November 8th, 2013|Tags: problem solving|

The Best and Most Popular of Productivity Blogs

Do you know what makes the Internet so great in my opinion? It is the thought of it connecting me with virtually everyone else on Earth. Well, everyone who has internet access, that is. And that we have access to an abundance of information like no generation before us.

I still love libraries, but I really don’t miss microfiche. (If you don’t know what that is, watch this YouTube video to get an idea). Finding answers is so much easier and a lot faster these days.

The internet is also great at delivering me with a lot of stuff I haven’t asked for – not saying I don’t enjoy it – like funny cat videos, epic fails, hilarious memes, insanely useful lifehacks, animated gifs, etc.

found at: awesomegifs.com

Yeah, you got it. Good job! How dare I sidetrack you, even before I got to the core of this post?! (Please click above links responsibly.) So what is the point? (more…)

November 1st, 2013|

The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself

I admit, when I first heard this famous quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt, I had no clue what it meant. I was seven and my Grandpa had just asked me to get some coals from the basement. “You are not scared, are you?” Of course I were and of course I said no.

That was when my Grandpa said: “Good, because the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. A very smart man said this long ago, and he was right.” On the way down I was wondering what it meant. I was afraid the timer of the light switch would run out before I was done, and I would be stuck in the pitch black, mazelike basement. And, yes I was afraid of seeing someone or something there. Someone or something that would scare me. There never was. By the way, the timer was set to 10 minutes, so I never got stuck although, I was always worried I would. (more…)

October 15th, 2013|Tags: spotlight effect|

Setting Expectations

After ending yet another phone call with some customer support, I realized how much every interaction with another human being is characterized by the expectations at both sites. Being an optimist and despite better knowledge I still go into each conversation with customer support expecting to get my issues quickly resolved.

Here is how it went today:

↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
The reason for calling was a missing item that was supposed to arrive two days ago.

Joe: [the introduction takes about 5 minutes with all the pleasantries and cross-checks to confirm it’s really me, he asks for the problem and checks the order number] When did you order?

Alex: On Monday

Joe: You know, delivery can take up to 10 business days depending on the shipping method you choose. What method did you choose?

Alex: Over night express

Joe: Ah, I see. [hectic keyboard noises] So…. you ordered on Monday?

Alex:Yes

Joe: This week? (more…)

October 4th, 2013|

Focusing on Elephants – Inattentional Blindness

In Propagation of Truth I gave examples for of how our perceived truth can be quite different from reality. Which means, actual facts can be the morphed into generalizations, exaggerations or falsifications of a true core or just be a one-sided account of a complicated situation.

So we justly like to say that we only believe what we see. And here you may correctly interrupt and ask “What about optical illusions?” Brusspup’s Youtube channel for example is full of great examples of how our brain can be tricked into “seeing” what is not real.

And also true, at times we prefer to ignore an obvious issue because it is too inconvenient to acknowledge its existence. The elephant in the room remains intentionally ignored. But what if we focus really hard on finding one specific problem? Can it happen that we miss the bigger one, the real elephant? (more…)

September 27th, 2013|Tags: Psychology|

The Propagation of Truth

Before you dive into this post I want you to breathe …
Inhale through your nose. Listen.
Exhale though your mouth. Feel the air flowing in through your nostrils. Breathe.

in… and… out.
Relax… and…breathe.

I am serious, do it. Slowly. Try to calm down and empty your mind.

I want you to be prepared for the next question.

What is truth?

Think for 30 seconds about something you would consider true.
Without getting too philosophical about what truth is, can be, or should be, I hope you can agree with the following definition:

A statement expresses truth when it is in accordance with facts and/or reality.

Do you agree? You reading this post right now is actually happening and thus has to be true. You know that, but how about others? If you told someone in one year from now, would he believe you? Sure, why wouldn’t he? It is not important, why would you make it up? Right? And he would likely have no way to proof you wrong, anyway.

How often do we have the chance to proof stories and facts we read or hear to be truthful? We often take for truth what others tell us, especially if they back up their facts with other facts.
So how does truth come to be? This questions is not only a serious one in the fields of law and science but also affects our everyday life. Because what we hold for truth can have a big impact on who we are and how we act.

There were a couple of facts I always wanted to check and while doing so I stumbled over a couple of interesting articles. Let me share with you what I found.

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September 1st, 2013|Tags: mind-blowing, misconceptions, statistics, urban myths|