Posts Tagged ‘Problem Solving’

Don’t veer for deer

Tuesday, November 6th, 2012

deer driving michael angelo caruso blogIt’s autumn and everyone is talking about the dangers of “deering while driving.”  It got me thinking about how humans handle problems.

There are 1.5 million car-deer collisions annually.  Deer crashes kill some 150 people per year.  The deer don’t fare well, either, mostly because few of them are wearing safety belts.


Here’s a surprising driving tip

The article lists three ways to avoid an unwanted wildlife encounter:

1)  Stay alert.  Deer are the most active at dawn and dusk.

2)  Deer travel in herds.  If you see one animal, there are probably many more nearby.

The third piece of advice is rather surprising:

3)  Don’t veer for deer.  Experts say that swerving is much more dangerous than hitting the animal.  Veering could easily introduce oncoming traffic or an unforgiving bridge abutment into the equation.


Sometimes, it’s best to face a problem head-on

Michael Angelo Caruso blog problem solvingThe “don’t veer for deer” lesson is a good metaphor for other types of problem-solving.

Of course, it’s always a good idea to stay alert for communication problems related to customer service, marketing, and such.  And yes, these problems often “travel in herds.”

Lots of us try to avoid problems by ignoring them, procrastinating or even denying the problems exist.

Yet, in many cases, it’s best to confront the problem head-on.  Face the problem as if you would position yourself directly in front of a camera.

Let the conundrum collide with your personal life or your work routine.  This will create a unique opportunity to uncover a solution. (more…)

Best way to solve this problem–make it worse

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

Kudos to the folks who have probably saved Cairo, Illinois from a devastating flood.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has taken action to blow up the local Mississippi River levee, before rising water levels create havoc for the community.

Read the full story on CNN.com.

Clever idea for fixing something–make it worse.

And yet, this brilliant strategy doesn’t usually make the list when someone is considering options.


There are many ways to solve a problem

Wikipedia lists the following problem-solving techniques.  How many of these do you use?

* Abstraction: solving the problem in a model of the system before applying it to the real system

* Analogy: using a solution that solved an analogous problem

* Brainstorming: (especially among groups of people) suggesting a large number of solutions or ideas and combining and developing them until an optimum is found

* Divide and conquer: breaking down a large, complex problem into smaller, solvable problems

* Hypothesis testing: assuming a possible explanation to the problem and trying to prove (or, in some contexts, disprove) the assumption

* Lateral thinking: approaching solutions indirectly and creatively

* Means-ends analysis: choosing an action at each step to move closer to the goal

* Method of focal objects: synthesizing seemingly non-matching characteristics of different objects into something new

* Morphological analysis: assessing the output and interactions of an entire system

* Reduction: transforming the problem into another problem for which solutions exist

* Research: employing existing ideas or adapting existing solutions to similar problems

* Root cause analysis: eliminating the cause of the problem

* Trial-and-error: testing possible solutions until the right one is found


Summary

So, when thinking about how to solve a particular problem, consider making things worse.

-Michael Angelo Caruso, Royal Oak, Michigan

Promote everything

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Even the best opportunities need to be promoted.

Our founding fathers issued 74 invitations to the first meeting of the Continental Congress.  Only about 52 people attended and half were lawyers.

It’s hard to “under-promote” a product, service or event.  Use multiple channels to issue multiple invitations.

That’s why having one distribution list doesn’t carry the day anymore.  Your competition is using their e-mail dist list, a personal Facebook page, a Facebook Fan Page, a Linkedin list and a Twitter list.  They are posting to each several times a week and in some cases, several times a day.

Every solution causes a new problem

Sunday, September 20th, 2009

The well-meaning Egyptian government wanted to do something about the swine flu threat so they slaughtered the majority of the countries pigs.

Turns out that pigs have as much to do with swine flu as birds and humans, so that idea wasn’t exactly sound.

Worse, Egyptians have suddenly become aware of how much the pigs did to consume roadside garbage.

Every solution causes a new conundrum.  Take care to think ahead when problem-solving.