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Internet has not been acceptable to these “customers,” and we need to meet
their expectations for a quick and appropriate response.

The real secret to defining the problem is having a positive attitude and

trying to see every problem as an opportunity. If you can get everyone
working toward the clarification of the problem and pursuing a new
opportunity, they are more likely in this process to spend their energy and
creativity searching for different alternatives and new ways that might
accommodate the needs of all concerned. Peter Drucker advocates that we
should starve problems and start feeding opportunities.

Any experienced problem solver will tell you that it is critical not to get
locked into thinking in depth about particular solutions before you have
made sure that you fully understand the problem. This is, the more you
know about the inside of the problem – its nature, depth, and complexity –

and about the outside of the problem – its context, background, and limits
– the better you will be able to come up with a good solution. Thus, your
goal should be to try to understand the problem before you let your mind
fasten on any one solution. That is why the problem statement should not
contain solutions, but should focus on the nature of what should be
resolved.

A constructive approach to problem-solving is determining what questions
need to be answered to build a complete picture of the problem. Two
distinct, but related, kinds of information need to be obtained. The first is
information about the current situation:

• What are you seeing or experiencing that causes you to think there is a
problem?

• Who is involved in the problem? Sometimes it is possible that the
problem or need does not belong to the organization or its leadership.

On the other hand, it is important not to jump to “who is causing the
problem?” When we are stressed, one of our first reactions is to lay
blame on someone else.

David Kolzow 191