In life, whether it be in personal matters or business
affairs, things do not always go to plan and you are
certain to encounter problems at some stage. It may be a
minor thing like losing your internet connection or missing
your train, or there could be a major problem like fire or
a mechanical breakdown.

The important thing is that you have in place a way of
handling problems and then solving them. There have been
many problem solving processes designed by business
managers and consultants for use in the work environment
but you may equally find them useful in other aspects of
your life.

With all methods though there are some key steps that you
need to take. Here they are for you to consider:

#1 Acknowledge The Problem

This is not always as obvious as it seems as sometimes you
will ignore what you believe to be small things in order to
get your work done or task completed. This will only cause
problems later, so the sooner the problem is acknowledged
the quicker you can overcome it. So be brave and face facts
if things aren't going right.

#2 Define The Problem

It is important that you are clear and precise in stating
what the problem is. Write down precisely what is, or
isn't, happening to cause you difficulties.

#3 Identify The Cause

It is essential that you know what is causing the problem
before you can start work on resolving it. If other people
are affected be sure to get them involved and if possible
get a group together and brainstorm the possible causes.
That means simply writing down everything that comes to
mind and should be done to a set timescale, say 30 minutes,
and you should not pre-judge anything as things may come to
light that you had not thought of. For example you could
discover that a problem is occurring because you or someone
else have not been adequately trained to carry out a task.

#4 Define The Expectations of The Outcome

It is vital that you know precisely what result you want to
achieve by resolving the problem. Define what the ultimate
outcome should be and put in place a way of measuring your
success.

#5 Identify A Solution

Once again you should involve any other people who are
affected by the problem and use the same brainstorming
method as before to identify possible solutions. Then you
need to come up with a shortlist before deciding on the
solution that is best.

#6 Select The Best Solution

You need to take your shortlist and decide which is the
best way of dealing with the problem. You need to look at
four factors;

Feasibility - how realistic is it?

Contribution to Objective - does it solve the problem in
the way you have identified as the required outcome and to
what extent?

Side Effects - how will other people, your business or job,
your leisure time, etc. be affected?

Cost - be sure you know the true cost. For instance if you
need to go on a training course don't just look at the cost
of the course but also what it will cost you or your
business in lost time. You must also be sure what you will
gain by the successful resolution of the problem.

Then you should devise a way of scoring each of these
factors against each solution on your shortlist. The one
with the best score is the one you should use.

#7 Take Action

All you have to do then is implement the decision, make
sure everyone involved understands what is required of
them, and ensure you have a way of measuring the outcome.

Having a simple but effective plan for dealing with life's
problems will help you to overcome them and often realize
that what at first seemed a problem is in reality an
opportunity to make things better.

About the Author:

This article was written by Tony Hall who runs his own
business dedicated to helping individuals develop their
personal and business skills. You can learn more about how
to develop your own life skills and get your complimentary
copy of "The Process of Success" by signing up for his
weekly newsletter at:
http://www.selfimpr ovementskills. com/newsletter. html