Rule 3: Solve the Problems You Know With the Solutions You Know Work

Ground Rules for Rule 3

• Innovation is good, but not always the best approach
• Keep and Share Lessons Learned
• Document solutions that have worked
• Ask the questions
• Focus and Prioritize the Problems you Know, don’t hunt for problems to solve

Solve the Problems You Know

Known problems have urgency and criticality

Remember when you were in that meeting recently and the head of sales came in and said we had an extremely critical roadblock preventing us from delivering our solution to a new customer.  She asked if we could wait a few years to get around to solving the problem.

What, that doesn’t sound familiar?

Solutions that solve existing problems have the benefit of stakeholder support.  Starting with a champion and a clear path to impact.

Known Problems have weight, relative priority, and known value/cost

The second advantage to working on existing problems, you have a ready path to the measures of impact.  You can size and cost the solution based upon the known impact of the problem you are solving.  This provides for scale and scope discussions based upon the expected impact.

Dabble in Agile

So those words probably just scared a lot of people.  Think of it this way, become an expert in collecting and prioritizing problems.  If you keep a list of known problems that you intend to solve (based upon funding and timing), and you actively prioritize that list, you are effectively doing Agile Backlog style execution planning.

With the Solutions You Know Work

Review what others have done. Consider buy versus build

There is a high likelihood that someone has already solved the problem that you are attempting to solve.  Take the time to learn from the successes (and failures) of others.  It will save you time and money.  The effort of others can significantly reduce risk if you can leverage the hard efforts of others’ lessons learned.  There is an amazing number of publications, blogs, websites, and professional organizations devoted to sharing what they have learned.

Innovating every time is expensive. Apply existing solutions, refine those solutions, document what you have learned

I have had the pleasure of working in operations capacities at different levels in distinctly different companies and organization.  Here is my secret to success…be boring.

I know what you are thinking, but boring gets the job done, is predictable and reliable, and repeats success.

Much like the Service Management approach of keeping a Service Catalog, repeatedly applying solutions you know work on problems you encounter allows you to have predictable cost, timing, and execution of a solution.  The more you apply existing solutions, the better you can refine those solutions.  The better you document what you have learned, the quicker you allow your legacy to benefit from that knowledge.

Be boring and build your toolkit!

Applying Rule 3

Look for Existing Solutions: Ask the Questions

Though these questions seem simplistic in nature, their application is the value.  Force yourself to document the answers to these questions.  First, you will learn more about the problem and possible solutions.  Second, you will educate yourself on what others have done when faced with the same challenge, allowing you to refine your decisions based upon the knowledge gained by others.

Look for Existing Solutions: Good Enough Checklist

Focus on the need, not the want…

• Are we trying to gold plate the solution?
• If we prioritize the needs, do some things end at the bottom of the list every time?
• Are we gold plating to satisfy the need of the few?

Focus on the big picture or the small details…NOT BOTH

• Does this solution solve the big picture, even if the small details are not ideal?
• If we compromise on the small details, do we still solve the problem effectively?
• What are the implications of compromise? (Stakeholder, customer satisfaction, etc)

Know when you have reached done.  The Pareto Rule Applies.

• If we simplify the solution can we let go of the rest?
• Is the problem considered solved before our “Full Solution” is done?
• Are we moving left or right on the “Long Tail”?

Look for Existing Solutions: Careful: When All You Have Is A Hammer…

• Do not force a fit – Pet Solutions and Pet Projects breed contempt
• Siloed Experts often see the problem in terms of the solution
• Depending on the problem, compromises may not be acceptable

Don’t Be Afraid to Try Something New

Promote innovation with a small team focused on an outlier solution. Bound the time, resources, and scope of the work on all or a portion of the problem.  This will prevent scope creep and enable learning from the venture more quickly. Calling it a Dark Horse Approach breaks downs silos, fiefdoms, and pet solutions.

Make this a highly visible effort. Value the lessons learned to educate and improve other solutions. If you are lucky, and typically you are lucky, new approaches and skills may come to light that make the end solution better.

Don’t consider this a wasted effort, after all the Dark Horse may be the best solution.

The First Step to Making Solutions More Reusable
Documenting Lessons Learned

Here is the approach I use when conducting After Action Reviews or Lessons Learned exercises.  I recommend having a facilitator who is not directly involved in the effort moderate the activity.  Their job is to focus on the process and the questions, document agreements, push past arguments, and re-center the team on the process.

Conduct After Action Reviews and include those in your solution documentation

• What will we do differently next time?
• What can we leverage elsewhere?
• Who would benefit from this knowledge?

Document lessons learned in a clear, searchable, and public way

• Include successes and gaps in success
• Document deviation and justification from initial plan
• Include Stakeholder and Customer satisfaction results

Keep track of when solutions are “deselected” and why

• It is not a failure to choose not to use a solution, just another way not to make the light bulb
• This activity avoids costly rethinking, hidden factories, and pet project prioritization
• Be very specific as to why something is deselected, “Joe doesn’t like this” is not specific

Don’t forget to apply the 5 Rules Mindset

Rule 3 is a toolkit to help you prioritize your work based upon what you already know.  The goal is to avoid taking a solution that you have adopted and trying to find problems it will solve.  Instead, start with problems you know you need to solve.  List them. Prioritize them.  When a stakeholder tries to insert their own priority and problems they need solved, the discussion becomes one of relative priority to other priorities problems already on the list.

1. Talk in terms of the impact, not the solution
2. Seriously consider doing nothing, that is always the starting state
3. Be careful about taking too small a step, the end state needs to be perceived as reachable
4. Evaluate what others have done in the face of this problem