{"id":12098,"date":"2017-07-04T10:00:37","date_gmt":"2017-07-04T08:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hatrabbits.com\/?p=12098"},"modified":"2023-11-21T14:29:45","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T13:29:45","slug":"prevent-solving-the-wrong-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hatrabbits.com\/en\/prevent-solving-the-wrong-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"How to prevent solving the wrong problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

Too often, people are trying to solve the wrong problem. They are confident they know what needs to be done and end up spending all their time and resources on finding a solution that might not be satisfactory at all. In their quest for creative ideas, they often forget to analyse the problem thoroughly…<\/strong><\/p>\n

How to prevent solving the wrong problem<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Share a problem with your network, and you\u2019ll probably receive dozens of suggestions on possible solutions. Most of us love to think about other people\u2019s challenges. Although crowdsourcing ideas is a great way to discover fresh approaches, it can also distract you from the bigger picture. Instead of asking your friends and colleagues for advice, you’ll first want to ask yourself; \u2018Why do I want to solve this problem in the first place?<\/em>\u2019 Although the answer seems rather obvious, you might be surprised by how often people bark up the wrong tree\u2026<\/p>\n

Too often, people are trying to solve an unimportant issue. Or even worse; they are following a solution path that doesn\u2019t solve their real issue<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

To prevent you from making the same mistakes, I\u2019ve written down ten questions you can ask yourself before exploring creative solutions. Ten ways to help you prevent solving the wrong problem.<\/p>\n

1. What\u2019s the problem?<\/strong>
\nDescribe your challenge in detail. What\u2019s your challenge all about? Be specific and honest. Put it into writing and make sure you put all possible assumptions on the table.<\/p>\n

2. Why is it important?<\/strong>
\nIs it a major problem? Why does this problem matter to you? Why should you care? Why is this problem so important to you, that it justifies spending time and energy on finding a suitable solution?<\/p>\n

3. Why does this problem need your attention right now?<\/strong>
\nIs there an urgency to solve this problem? Why? And if there is no urgency, what\u2019s the reason to dig into it at this moment?<\/p>\n

4. Who is affected by this problem?<\/strong>
\nWho are the stakeholders? Who are in need for a solution to this problem? Why do they care? Who should be involved in finding a solution? What\u2019s important to them?<\/p>\n

5. How often (and when) does this problem occur?<\/strong>
\nDoes your problem occur regularly? How often? Once a year? Every month? Twice a week? When does it happen? Always? In a particular situation or setting? At an exact location, during a specific moment or procedure?<\/p>\n

6. What are the consequences if you can\u2019t find a solution?<\/strong>
\nHow important is solving this problem? What happens if you won\u2019t find a solution? Would people get hurt? Would your company go bankrupt? Would clients get upset? Would you lose a big assignment? Would customers leave you? What\u2019s the worst that could happen?<\/p>\n

7. What causes this problem to occur?<\/strong>
\nWhat is the root cause<\/a><\/span> of this problem? Are you looking at the real challenge or are you just treating the symptoms of the problem?<\/p>\n

8. Who is the problem owner?<\/strong>
\nWho cares if you find a solution? Who is the most frustrated, annoyed, irritated or panicked about this problem? Who needs to implement the solution? Who is making the decisions regarding this issue? Who needs to pay for the solution? Where does the money come from?<\/p>\n

9. What do you need to solve this problem?<\/strong>
\nWhat kind of solutions are you looking for? In what area are you looking for ideas? What criteria<\/a><\/span> do you have for possible solutions? (time, money, effort, results etc.)<\/p>\n

10. How do you know when your solution was successful?<\/strong>
\nHow do you measure the results? How do you notice improvement? How do you know that your problem has been solved? How can you tell that your solution has worked?<\/p>\n

The checklist above is a great tool to get a better understanding of why (and if) your problem is worth solving. Answering these questions will help you to define a more specific challenge<\/a><\/span>, setup better objectives, or simply find more suitable ideas.<\/p>\n

Hungry for more?<\/em><\/strong>
\nDo you have an important issue to solve and are you looking for creative support? Then give us a call<\/a><\/span> or shoot us an email at hello@hatrabbits.com<\/a><\/span>. We’d love to help you with your challenge.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prevent solving the wrong problem. Ask yourself these questions before you start looking for solutions to your problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[315],"tags":[423,1025,257,211],"class_list":["post-12098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-problem-solving","tag-checklist","tag-problem","tag-problem-analysis","tag-problem-solving"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to prevent solving the wrong problem - HatRabbits<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Prevent solving the wrong problem. 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