Someone stole your toolbox – what do you do?

You’ve been using it for years. Every tool in your kit has your name on it – even if you’re not a fiend with a labeler, people know the kinds of work you do, the kind of quality you produce. An integral part of that quality comes from knowing your tools, knowing what they can do, and making sure you approach tasks from a uniform position.

Uniform positions are the helpdesk approach to problem solving; rational elimination by rote.

You’ve made the helpdesk call, right? We all have. You ask for help, and the person on the other end runs through what amounts to a probability tree involving try-this-then-that procedures. The whole experience usually feels very Monty Hall in its predictable lack of reliable result. The root of the problem here is that it’s all done by rote. It’s trained, and it’s not imaginative.

The help desk mentality is killing creative thinking!

I’ve got nothing against Helpdeskers – their training is important in many situations. However, when we can’t ask for help, and don’t have access to their resources, we’re limited to what we know.

But what do we do when we don’t know anything?

You’ve just been given a new job. You’re getting down to business, preparing yourself for the work ahead – but something’s horribly wrong. It takes you a while to realize what’s going on, but eventually it comes to you; for some reason, your usual approach is useless here. Someone has, effectively, stolen your toolbox.

Everyone faces this now and then.

It could be a literal tool, or a common process – the tool itself doesn’t matter, what matters is that you can’t fix a problem in the usual manner. So what do you do? This is where most people spend hours thrashing away at new ideas, building new methods, or thinking outside the box. It usually goes nowhere – but there’s an easy way to fix that, and some simple questions to ask before you dig in.

Are you addressing the process, or the problem?

More often than not, we look for ways to fit our usual process into the needs of a job, not the other way around.How can you tell if this is happening? Look for these signs;

• If you’re thinking in terms of steps, strategy or plans – you’re addressing process.
• If you’re trashing, spending a lot of time thinking about details – you’re addressing process.

Try adjusting to focus in these areas instead;

• If you’re looking at the history leading up to the problem, that’s addressing the problem.
• If you’re looking for new materials to use, that’s addressing a problem.
• If you’re willing (if you have time) to step away from the task to reconsider, you’re willing to address the problem itself properly.

Of course, these are broad examples – they can’t possibly be anything else. After all, addressing high-level concerns immediately means removing yourself from the process, which is all your usual tools are good for. Grooming yourself for high-level thinking is an excellent way to approach problems instead of processes. Simple motivators can make a huge difference.

The Cult of Done Manifesto hangs over an innumerable number of desks, for good reason. It teaches us to focus on results above process, and to finish before we perfect. The perfect is the enemy of the done!

The Pie Chart of Procrastination is another example of simple messages; the details are meaningless without action!

Above all else, being willing to accept new tools is one of the best problem solving skills out there.

So I’ll leave it with you; what tools do you use, that you’ve found don’t actually apply to every situation you thought they did?

Ian M Rountree is a blogger and marketing professional who is currently publishing a web novel, The Dowager Shadow.

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