Problems, by their very nature, are negative. They demand to be solved, but they do not inspire. Opportunities, however, are positive. They call to be exploited. Problems, especially when their resolution is difficult, tend to be divisive. Managers may work at devising solutions. However, energy will also be diverted into avoiding recrimination. After all, a problem is ‘internal’ to the business. Someone, somewhere must have caused it. A problem is someone’s fault. Rather than solve the problem, a manager may think it a better strategy to ensure that someone else gets the blame for it. This is a self-defence mechanism. Problems get caught up in the internal politics of the organisation and can exacerbate them. An opportunity, however, is external to the firm. It comes from ‘outside’. It is there to be exploited. It is not anyone’s fault. Managers will resist identification of problems. They will minimise them or even deny their existence. Yet they will queue up to take credit for identifying an opportunity. Managers can rally round and work together to take advantage of an opportunity. In general, people are constrained to deal with problems; they are motivated to capitalise on opportunities. For these reasons it is better, whenever possible, to talk about taking advantage of opportunities rather than addressing problems.
In many respects problems and opportunities are the two sides of one coin. It depends on whether one looks towards what has been achieved from the per- spective of what might have been achieved or from the starting point. Translating one to the other is often a matter of rhetorical approach. The old adage of the half- filled glass applies: is it half-full or half-empty? For example, a new product launch has not gone as well as expected. This is a problem: the return on the investment is not as good as expected. However, it represents an opportunity to understand customer demand better and come up with an improved product. A competitor moves into a market. This is a problem – it will increase competition – but it con- firms that the sector is an attractive one for the player who can get it right.
A word of caution here: although it is better, for the reasons given, to talk about opportunities rather than problems, it is important to be realistic. Too much
Chapter 5 / Defining the destination, developing a strategy and understanding change 105
emphasis on the positives can make someone seem glib and unable to come to terms with the real world. People may begin to doubt the decision-making ability of the person. If the person cannot see the problem, how can his or her decisions address it? If the person does not allow himself or herself to talk about problems, this limits the call to action he or she can make to others. Further, individuals who tend to see problems rather than opportunities (and this is to some extent a part of the cognitive perspective discussed above) may feel that those who emphasise the positive are ignoring their concerns.
Turning problems into opportunities – negatives into positives – should not be a mantra; it should be a tool used as part of an overall communication strategy. It should not be used to deny problems but to put them into context. Revealing the opportunity makes the problem seem tractable and tackling it even enjoyable. It also takes the sting out of responsibility (real or imagined) for the problem in the first place.
5.2
Problem analysis, specification and
quantification
The consultant is presented with a ‘problem’ by member(s) of the client organ- isation. Before he or she can start to solve this problem, they need to analyse it and discover whether the client has correctly identified the problem and its ‘root cause’. Ideally this should be done before any formal proposal is given to the client.
Stage 1: Brainstorm the causes
Using members of the consulting team and, if possible, clients as well, you need to explore some of the causes of the problem. You need to clearly state the chosen problem and follow the rules of brainstorming (see Section 9.7) to answer the question. For example, the question could be: Why is the response to my questionnaire too low? See Table 5.2 for some responses to the question.
Table 5.2 Possible causes of a poor response rate Not going to a named person
Survey is too long
The language used is too complicated The incentives are not large enough
It is not clear on how the interviewee should respond
The person to whom the completed questionnaire should be sent is not obvious It has not been sent to enough people
The mailing list details are out of date
The information requested is confidential or too personal The target is too busy
The respondent is suspicious of the survey’s motives
..
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Stage 2: Group the causes into major categories
This is often a helpful way to sort a lot of ideas that have come from the brain- storming session. Kerri Simon (www.isixsigma.com/library/content/t000827.asp, consulted 20 March 2007) describes two sets of categories for service and manu- facturing which may prove a useful guide (see Table 5.3).
So, using our example from above, we could group our responses in the way described in Table 5.4.
Stage 3: Construct a ‘cause and effect’ diagram
This useful tool (often called a ‘fishbone diagram’) was developed by Kaoru Ishikawa, a Japanese management guru who was particularly concerned with the achieve- ment of total quality within the workplace. For this and other problem-solving techniques, you should refer to Ishikawa’s book What is Total Quality Control? The Japanese Way.
Here it provides a picture of the problem (‘effect’) and the likely causes. By using this, you can challenge further the groupings and identify the major causes. The minor causes should be ones that are easily resolved or do not have a signific- ant impact on the problem. Figure 5.3 takes our example and uses the cause and effect tool.
Table 5.3Suggested categories for service and manufacturing
Service industries (The 4 Ps)
n Policies
n Procedures
n People
n Plant / Technology
Source: The Cause and Effect Diagram (aka Fishbone), by Kerri Simon. Copyright © 2000–2007 iSixSigma
LLC – all rights reserved. Reproduced with permission.
Table 5.4Major causes of poor response
Not getting to the right person Not going to a named person It has not been sent to enough people The mailing list details are out of date
Target not completing the survey Survey is too long
The language used is too complicated The incentives are not large enough
The information requested is confidential or too personal The target is too busy
The respondent is suspicious of the survey’s motives
Survey completed but not It is not clear on how the interviewee should respond
processed The person to whom the completed questionnaire should be sent is not obvious
Our organisation has failed to process the completed questionnaire
Manufacturing industries (The 6 Ms)
n Machines
n Methods
n Materials
n Measurements
n Mother nature (environment)
Chapter 5 / Defining the destination, developing a strategy and understanding change 107
Stage 4: Getting to the root cause of the major problems
Having established the major causes of the problem, it is important to deter- mine the root causes. The ‘5 Whys’ tool is useful here to challenge thinking and undercover the true root of the problem. It keeps asking ‘why’ until a meaningful answer to the root cause is uncovered. Sometimes it takes less than 5 whys and sometimes more to reach an answer. An example of this process follows, based on the analysis of an unsuccessful sales call.
Problem statement: The last sales call was not successful. 1 Why? Because the customer did not buy.
2 Why did the customer not buy? Because the product did not seem right for her. 3 Why was the product not right for her? Because it did not address any needs she
had.
4 Why did the product not address any needs she had? Because it was too complex
for her business.
..
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5 Why did you not know this before the call? Because I did not know about the busi-
ness she was running.
6 Why did you not know about the business she was running? Because no research
had been done in advance. The solution to this problem is clear!
In our example, if we decide that the mailing list being out of date is a major cause of the problem, we can explore the root cause of this (Table 5.5). In this example, it is the last answer that gives us something to work on as including an update of the mailing list is within our control and therefore can be fixed. In comparison, if we had stopped at answer 4, we would be trying to change the budget we were given, which is harder or impossible to achieve.