How mature is your organisation’s approach to problems?
So much is written about problem solving in the operational excellence (OpEx) literature. It’s seen as a core skill for continuous improvement (CI). There are training courses galore to teach people to become better at it. Underpinning this there seems to be an assumption that problems are routinely being identified and acted on in good time.
Yet is that always the case? I suggest not. Often problems are either hidden, not acted on soon enough or tackled in an inappropriate way. Which means that problems are not properly resolved, and organisations find themselves facing the same problems again and again.
Is the way we think about and react to problems a problem in itself? For example, the often-heard statement “don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions” says something about the problem-solving maturity of the individual or organisation.
I found myself wondering if there is a kind of “problem solving maturity” in organisations that impacts their ability to work effectively on problems. In thinking about this idea, we identified four stages of problem-solving maturity:
Problem Hiders
Problem Sharers
Problem Solvers
Problem Preventers
An honest assessment of the attitudes and assumptions held about problems can give organisations insight into their level of problem-solving maturity and hence to more effective problem resolution strategies. These, in turn, will lead to improved progress on operational excellence as a whole.
What is a problem anyhow?
Before we get into that, however, it might be helpful to be clear what we mean by “a problem” in the context of operational excellence and continuous improvement.
A simple definition of a problem is “a gap between where you are and where you want to be”. This is fine for most purposes, but there are two important distinctions to consider in the context of operational excellence.
A deviation from a previously stable level of performance, especially where the cause is unknown. This is a true problem and requires a response, usually quite urgent.
The current stable level of performance is not where you would like or need it to be to deliver the result that you desire for your organisation. While this is a problem, it is more a “desire for improvement” and requires a somewhat different approach.
A full treatment of these is beyond the scope of this article and we’ll come back to it in the future. At this stage, understanding the two – and perhaps considering which “type” of problem you have – may give you some insight into your thinking.
Is how we think about problems a problem?
“The problem is not the problem; the problem
is your attitude about the problem”Captain Jack Sparrow, “Pirates of the Caribbean”
Now that we’re clear what we mean by “a problem”, there are two key questions to consider:
How do people respond when problems occur?
What attitudes, underlying assumptions and beliefs are driving that response?
One fundamental issue about problems is that they are often seen as negative, perhaps even a sign of failure.
If this is the case, problems are seen as something to be avoided, and this leads to perhaps the most negative response – people hide problems rather than bringing them into the open.
Turning Problem Hiders into Problem Sharers
There are two common reactions from leaders that can lead to Problem Hiding.
“We don’t have any problems!”
“Having no problems is the biggest problem of all!”
Taiichi Ohno, creator of the Toyota Production System
We might call those with this mindset “problem denyers”. Any suggestion by others that there is a problem is met with an uncomfortable reaction, with the result that problems are hidden.
Of course, the problems are still there. They just get ignored for a long as possible until they can’t be avoided. By which time the impact of the problem is most likely more severe, the time pressure to resolve more urgent, and the cost of fixing the problem significantly higher.
What if, instead of the above, we choose to think about any problem as an opportunity to improve. To take a step towards our vision of operational excellence. We might start to welcome the discovery of problems and take positive steps towards fixing them.
“Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognised a problem and turned it into an opportunity”
Joseph Sugarman, Entrepreneur
Leaders need to make it “safe” for people to highlight problems. This is an important first step up the maturity scale – moving people from Problem Hiders to Problem Sharers.
It isn’t always easy. Even if the leader’s attitude to problems changes, people may still experience unhelpful reactions elsewhere or find it hard to let go of previous attitudes and experiences. However, with care, the prevailing attitudes will start to shift.
“Don’t bring me problems, I want solutions!”
This oft-repeated mantra may have a positive intention to it. There are the beginnings of a culture that recognises that identifying and solving problems is desirable. And it addresses a concern that those identifying problems might think they have “done their bit” and that it’s someone else’s problem to fix it.
At one level, I would agree. It’s not healthy to create a culture of moaning and complaining without action. I believe it’s good that someone identifying a problem should take action on it where possible and not simply pass the buck.
However, there’s a downside. What if the person identifying the problem, for any one of a number of reasons, does not have a solution to propose? In that case, this mantra will soon turn them into Problem Hiders again!
So, what could be a more helpful response? Perhaps questions like:
What makes you feel that you don’t have a solution?
This may give you some valuable clues on where to take action. Maybe delegation is ineffective, they don’t feel confident, they are lacking the knowledge or skills, they haven’t yet had time to work on it or are genuinely stumped despite having all of these. In any event, these can be valuable learning and coaching moments.
What action do you propose?
Be careful of language and tone. It’s definitely not “so what are you going to do about it?”, which is just another variant on the first question!
What do you need to tackle this?
Indicating your willingness to help without taking on the problem yourself.
Giving the “problem sharer” opportunity to highlight concerns and ask for help.
When will you take action?
Helps tie down the action and give the “problem finder” an opportunity to highlight any constraints.
Questions like these will encourage others to be open about problems and share their ideas for tackling them, while avoiding the potential issue of leaving someone with a problem that they are not equipped to tackle.
Creating the right environment
In a production line environment, the need to resolve problems quickly becomes especially obvious. When problems occur, either poor product continues to get made or production stops until the problem is resolved. The Andon system provides a way of managing this. A cord or button beside the production line triggers an alert – amber if there’s a problem, red to stop the line if the problem can’t be fixed before the product moves to the next station. You see the same thing at self-serve checkouts in supermarkets.
In some less mature cultures, the pressure not to stop production can over-ride the desire to fix the problem and the problem persists. Pulling the cord results in criticism of the team member involved, driving a culture of fear that perpetuates the culture of problem hiding.
Some questions to help you:
What can you identify in your organisation that might get in the way of open problem sharing?
What change would be needed for your teams to become more active problem sharers?
What would problem sharing look like?
What value would it have?
In a more mature culture, the first Andon call will immediately summon a team leader to check and support fixing the problem. A second call will alert a support team to ensure the necessary resources are provided to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.
Once you create an environment where your colleagues feel confident to share the problems they have discovered, something amazing will start to happen. They will start to notice more problems and opportunities to improve.
Which is a good thing. Right?
Moving from Problem Sharers to Problem Solvers
Once people are bringing problems out into the open, the next stage is to make sure that problems are worked on effectively. In my experience, the more we equip people to become effective Problem Solvers, the better the whole organisation becomes at this.
“It’s not a Problem that we have a Problem.
It’s a Problem if we don’t deal with the Problem.”Mary Kay Utech, Educator
Providing support can come from the very top. In the book “The Toyota Engagement Equation” Ernie Richardson tells a story of a time at Toyota where an area he was responsible for brought the whole factory to a standstill.
They heard that Fujio Cho, then factory manager and later Toyota CEO, was on his way over. He walked the mile or so, so they had a long time to think about the reaction they would get.
They needn’t have worried. When he arrived, he said simply, “Thank you for shutting the factory down. We’ll fix this problem. Do you have everything you need?”
The role of the leader is to ensure that everyone is equipped to tackle problems. This means:
Giving everyone a basic level of problem-solving knowledge and skill to either:
Tackle problems for themselves when it’s within their capability.
Know when to involve others or escalate to deal with the problem effectively.
Deploying a standard approach to problem solving and tracking the progress on problems raised (I will share more on this in a future article).
Some questions to help you:
How consistently are problems identified and acted upon?
How well equipped is everyone in your organisation to take effective action on problems that they find?
How good area the systems to manage the progress on problem solving across the organisation?
This isn’t just about training – although that’s a part of it – but also about creating opportunities to put that into practice on a regular basis with appropriate coaching, mentoring and support. Problem solving then becomes part of the daily routine, evidencing a change of assumptions or culture.
Becoming Problem Preventers
One of the fundamental principles of OpEx is “prevention not detection”. With this in mind, the final level on our problem-solving maturity curve should be one of Problem Prevention.
A first step towards this is to have a step that is “prevent recurrence” at the end of every problem-solving cycle. In the high-pressure operational world, this can often be missed, yet could be considered the most important. It is valuable, not just for the area with the problem, but also to consider where else this problem might occur and replicate the corrective action.
A mature problem-solving process will attempt to find the true “root cause” of a problem rather than simply deal with its symptoms. This evaluation will normally make it possible to answer the questions:
Where in the system did the problem originate, as opposed to where it was discovered?
It may be an issue in the design stage, planning stage or somewhere else.
What prevented the problem, or its potential, being identified at that point?
How can we take action now to prevent this happening again, or at least reduce the possibility?
Some questions to help you:
How often and how well does your organisation apply the “prevent recurrence” step?
What systems are in place to anticipate and mitigate potential problems?
How well are those systems applied?
How well are “lessons learned” from each problem-solving activity incorporated into prevention of future problems?
Taking this a step even further, we can ask “what might happen in future, either internally or externally, that might lead to problems?”
The principle is one of “designed in quality”. Powerful techniques of risk analysis, Failure Modes and Effects (FMEA) analysis and “mistake proofing” can be applied to the design of the product or process. Potential problems are identified at the earliest opportunity, giving the chance to “design out” the potential problem or at least to “design in” mitigation in order to avoid or minimise the impact.
We will always have problems!
Of course, in the real world, we will always have problems. However well a product or process is designed, there are always the “unknown unknowns” that will catch us out. We may achieve excellence, but we’ll never achieve perfection.
It’s how we respond to the problems that do occur that counts!
So where are you?
I wonder where you recognised yourself and your organisation in the above descriptions?
Hopefully you can identify where on the problem-solving maturity curve you are. And, perhaps more importantly, what actions you can take to improve the level of maturity in your organisation.
Perhaps you need some support to take those next steps. We are always delighted to have an informal conversation without cost or obligation, so connect with me on LinkedIn, complete our contact form or drop us an email.