Life lesson from running a digital agency:
When asking for help, focus your efforts on defining the problem instead of suggesting a solution. The person you’re asking for help from may have solutions you’ve never considered.
If my recent experience is any measure, it works equally well when asking a hotel concierge for help getting to a destination1 and getting team members to think creatively about solving a problem2. And boy do I love it when one of our clients comes to us with a well defined problem.
I was there, it worked! “@alexkingorg: Define the Problem Instead of Suggesting a Solution. http://t.co/rwKts0x0JU”
Works for employees, too. If an employee comes to be because he can’t solve a problem, 80% of the time it’s because he can’t define the problem. And if he can’t define the problem, I can’t hand the problem off to another developer.
“Define the Problem Rather than Suggesting a Solution” http://t.co/DN3mIeiR3K
[…] The always insightful Alex King shares a life lesson: […]
You may be able to get better results by defining the problem instead of suggesting a solution. http://t.co/zNkexFonXe
This applies to reporting bugs, too: RT @alexkingorg: Define the Problem Instead of Suggesting a Solution. http://t.co/6OyJGoDlwi
@nacin @alexkingorg so true!! 🙂
@nacin @alexkingorg This is also known as the XY Problem. http://t.co/MpLuQQkuZn
@nacin @alexkingorg Speaking as someone with a reputation for putting this cart before this horse, I agree, but let’s not dismiss solutions.
@JJJ @alexkingorg A great way to avoid muddying the problem is to separate things out. First post the P; outline a potential S in a comment.
@nacin @JJJ @alexkingorg I think doing both works, as long as you always define the problem, and sometimes give a solution.
Definitely applies to testing and reporting results: Define the Problem Instead of Suggesting a Solution http://t.co/QytHHWw8R2
@alexkingorg applies also to proposal writing: tell prospective clients what problem you’ll solve, not what tech you’ll use.
Lots of great applications for this. I’ve always been surrounded by people who’ve instilled the notion of “bring me solutions, not problems”, so I see benefits of both. Better to be approached with a well-defined problem than a poorly defined one, but in many cases I’d rather be presented with a solution to a well-defined problem, than the problem itself.