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Using multiple perspectives to solve problems is not new. It’s common in strategy sessions to try and figure out what your competition is doing or your customers are thinking. In most cases, though, people don’t apply multiple perspectives to the everyday challenges they face. We resort to solving problems “the way we always have” which is usually a combination of educated guess and intuition.
Driving meaningful value though is a product of decision quality. If you can’t make and act on quality decisions, your business success or failure is based on luck. Next time you are faced with a challenge try this approach to evaluating the problem and solving it.
First, we need some language to communicate about the problem. There are in essence two types of data:
An objective measurement is any data that can be measured concretely – in business this is most often a balance sheet, count or cycle time of some kind. The important thing to remember with objective data is that good objective information is factual.
A subjective measurement is any data that is experiential in nature. Subjective data includes personal responses to questions like “How do you feel about Mr. Smith?” This can include interview responses, ratings on a scale or any other form of personal preference that can be communicated. Subjective data is useful in determining how events “feel” to an individual or group.
When both types of data are available problem analysis becomes a quick and easy process with standard resolutions. Let’s walk through this case by case so you can see how it all works.
The first case where objective data is favorable and subjective data is favorable is cause for celebration and communication. As an organization or group – this is time to revel in positive results and make sure everyone knows it. Communication at this stage is important to help keep individuals engaged and involved in continued positive results. It may be appropriate to check for overspend and/or opportunities to maintain favorable levels and also reduce costs.
The second case where objective data is good and subjective data is poor means that somewhere along the line expectations were miss-communicated or the situation has changed. This is an important opportunity to go back to your stakeholders and communicate. Sometimes the result is resetting baseline expectations or – demonstrating to an unsatisfied client that you are delivering to the objective requirements of the job. Triage at this stage is always communicate and investigate.
The third case where objective data is poor and subjective data is a great opportunity to evaluate the situation. Does the customer understand the situation? Are your clients problems aligned to the objective measures you have chosen to review? Essentially - make sure you are collecting the right data. Key actions in this case are to have conversations about the perceived needs and actual needs of the customer: there may be a misalignment.
In the fourth and final case, the answer is put in an improvement program to solve the problem. It’s not over at solving the problem though, it is important when improving a situation to communicate back to stakeholders that the problem has actually been solved or resolved to meet or exceed expectations.
The recurring theme in the each of the above situations is to, of course, communicate. The success of any activity involving more than one person is significantly rooted in communications. If you don’t clearly communicate on both an objective and subjective front with your clients, results are haphazard and a product of luck more than skill.
In the end, your clients deserve more than luck.
Driving meaningful value though is a product of decision quality. If you can’t make and act on quality decisions, your business success or failure is based on luck. Next time you are faced with a challenge try this approach to evaluating the problem and solving it.
First, we need some language to communicate about the problem. There are in essence two types of data:
An objective measurement is any data that can be measured concretely – in business this is most often a balance sheet, count or cycle time of some kind. The important thing to remember with objective data is that good objective information is factual. A subjective measurement is any data that is experiential in nature. Subjective data includes personal responses to questions like “How do you feel about Mr. Smith?” This can include interview responses, ratings on a scale or any other form of personal preference that can be communicated. Subjective data is useful in determining how events “feel” to an individual or group.When both types of data are available problem analysis becomes a quick and easy process with standard resolutions. Let’s walk through this case by case so you can see how it all works.
The first case where objective data is favorable and subjective data is favorable is cause for celebration and communication. As an organization or group – this is time to revel in positive results and make sure everyone knows it. Communication at this stage is important to help keep individuals engaged and involved in continued positive results. It may be appropriate to check for overspend and/or opportunities to maintain favorable levels and also reduce costs.
The second case where objective data is good and subjective data is poor means that somewhere along the line expectations were miss-communicated or the situation has changed. This is an important opportunity to go back to your stakeholders and communicate. Sometimes the result is resetting baseline expectations or – demonstrating to an unsatisfied client that you are delivering to the objective requirements of the job. Triage at this stage is always communicate and investigate.
The third case where objective data is poor and subjective data is a great opportunity to evaluate the situation. Does the customer understand the situation? Are your clients problems aligned to the objective measures you have chosen to review? Essentially - make sure you are collecting the right data. Key actions in this case are to have conversations about the perceived needs and actual needs of the customer: there may be a misalignment.
In the fourth and final case, the answer is put in an improvement program to solve the problem. It’s not over at solving the problem though, it is important when improving a situation to communicate back to stakeholders that the problem has actually been solved or resolved to meet or exceed expectations.
The recurring theme in the each of the above situations is to, of course, communicate. The success of any activity involving more than one person is significantly rooted in communications. If you don’t clearly communicate on both an objective and subjective front with your clients, results are haphazard and a product of luck more than skill.
In the end, your clients deserve more than luck.
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