Posts Tagged ‘problem’

We Ask, You Answer: What Do You Want to Know?

I’ll be returning to the “We Ask, You Answer” series sometime in the near future; my schedule just got too complex to keep up with them, and rather than do a shoddy job for the sake of just doing it, I decided to suspend the series until I could give it more of my attention.

However, I need your assistance! This Thursday (April 24, 2008), I’m recording a special… » Continue

April 21 2008 | By Dustin | Tagged: Podcast, problem, question | 17 comments»

Look for the Solution within the Problem

Two prisoners dug a tunnel from their cell 80 feet to escape from prison. Where did they hide the dirt? This is one of the examples used by Roni Horowitz of the consultancy group SIT to show the advantages of a method called Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT).

The answer is that they hid the dirt in the tunnel. The prisoners stole nylon sacks from… » Continue

March 14 2008 | By Paul | Tagged: creative, creativity, imagination, lateral, problem, puzzle, solution, solving, thinking | 11 comments»

Unleash your Inner Genius

Let’s say you are wrestling with a tough issue - maybe at work, at home, with your children or in your social life. You have been stuck for a while and you can’t seem to make a breakthrough. You want to come up with some really creative ideas. What can you do? Here are ten great practical ways to boost your inventiveness and to crack the problem:

1. Ask why… » Continue

March 7 2008 | By Paul | Tagged: brainstorming, creativity, idea, ideation, lateral, problem, problem-solving, solution, thinking | 9 comments»

Solutions for 10 MORE Annoying Modern Day Problems

A few months ago, I wrote about Solutions for 7 Annoying Modern Day Problems. With modern life comes convenience, but also new problems. Here are 10 more solutions for 10 more annoying problems.

1. Need a Reliable Contractor?

Head on over to Angie’s List where their tagline says it all: “Home service contractors reviewed and rated

» Continue

September 20 2007 | By K. | Tagged: life, problem, solution | 11 comments»

Focusing on What Matters (and Ignoring What Does Not)

As I look back at this week’s postings on Slow Leadership, I notice that most of them were concerned with helping people stop wasting their time and energy on fruitless endeavors.

Take the first post, entitled: To Succeed, First Forget About Leadership Technique. In it, I argued that belief that success—in just about any business or leadership —comes from one simple source (applying the correct “leadership technique), is both… » Continue

October 30 2006 | By Adrian | Tagged: civilized-work, decision-making, firstthingsfirst, freedom, Hamburger-Management, lifebalance, Lifehack, Management, overwork, prioritization, problem, problemsolving, technique, timemanagement, work-life, work/life-balance, working, worklife | 1 comment»

The Art of Complex Problem Solving

An elegant illustration of demostrasting a complex program solving process:

Go to the link below, rollovers with your mouse on different areas of the diagram to see different explanation of the process - Measure, Model, Understand, Predict/Decide/Plan, Communication, and Act.

The Art of Complex Problem Solving

» Continue

October 19 2006 | By Leon | Tagged: problem, solution | 17 comments»

Get Motivated With An Excite List

Achieve IT! suggests a way to motivate and gain traction on a stalled project. Identify what is the reason on stalling. Next drop down some very simple todo onto the list. The excitement will come when you complete those very trivial todo items and cross them off:

… Underneath the reasons, begin a simple list. Jot down everything you need to do to get that one stumbling block out of the… » Continue

September 29 2006 | By Leon | Tagged: problem, procrastination, Productivity | no comments»

Use Design Methods to Define Problems

A fascinating conversation is happening over at Functioning Form, a design journal written by Luke Wroblewski. He is using the skillsets common to designers to unlock the other have of problem solving. Think about it: designers are often considered to be holding the solution to a problem. Instead, Luke says in his conversation with Tom Chi that a very powerful use of a designer’s skills and knowledge is to… » Continue

April 28 2006 | By Chris | Tagged: discipline, Lifehack, lifehacks, problem | no comments»

Would I Lie To You?

Lying your way out of trouble often causes far greater harm. Integrity is worth more than you may think. » Continue

February 20 2006 | By Adrian | Tagged: ethics, honesty, integrity, mistake, personal, problem, reputation, trust | no comments»

How to Categorize and Solve Problems

At Thinking Faster, Jeffrey Phillips introduced his mental framework on solving problems. He uses an analogy of a wedding cake, which has different layers, and they are distinct yet inter-related to help him decide how to categorize and solve problems:

At the top - Strategy
Next down - Process / Culture
Next down - software applications / tools
At the bottom - data

He said an issue from business may be related to these four… » Continue

November 2 2005 | By Leon | Tagged: business, problem | 2 comments»

Tips For Personal Brainstorming

Chuck Frey over at Creativity For Life has some tips to increase your effectiveness on personal problem-solving skills. Think about there is a time you are solving a problem, and the challenge is too big that you want to give up. How should you tackle it? Chuck suggested two steps: State your problem clearly, and then brainstorm solutions. The main message from him is to write everything that you can… » Continue

October 7 2005 | By Leon | Tagged: brainstorm, creativity, problem, solving | no comments»

Determine The Root Cause: 5 Whys

iSixSigma introduced a good method on finding the root cause of a problem by using 5 why. By repeatedly asking the question “Why” on an issue, you can dig into the root of the cause of a problem. Another good benefit of using this method is that you can determine the relationship between different root causes of a problem. Here is one good example of using 5 Whys:

Problem Statement: Customers… » Continue

September 19 2005 | By Leon | Tagged: problem, resolution | 4 comments»