7 Steps to Effective Business Problem Solving

Whatever the size of your business, you need to have a contingency plan for when problems arise since they are a part of every organization.

Regardless of how well you forecast, plan and test, challenges will always emerge in business. Having the right problem-solving plan can go a long way in ensuring you continue to function even amid unexpected and difficult circumstances.

What is problem-solving in business?

Problem-solving refers to the process to remove or mitigate obstacles that prevent a business from reaching its strategic goals. These can be issues that widen the gap between results and desired outcomes that do not have an obvious or immediate solution. They can be present in operational processes, teams or throughout an organization.

For instance, if the main problem a business is facing is productivity from remote employees, ensuring you equip them with the right work from home essentials by Omnicore can positively impact their productivity.

To be able to approach problem solving effectively, an organization should establish processes that can help in evaluating them, exploring the solutions, prioritizing execution and measuring success.

Why is it so important?

Acquiring problem-solving skills makes it easier for a team to tackle critical business issues or conflicts as they arise. This is a process that needs to be initiated by the management. A CEO or business owner should possess level-headed problem-solving skills to be mirrored by the employees.

With effective problem-solving techniques, the company and staff are better placed to deal with issues more effectively and even establish and refine how they deal with challenges in the future. A business can turn obstacles into opportunities with the right skills while keeping a level head.

In many ways, a problem-solving strategy should mirror how a business reviews performance through regular plan reviews. This calls for working through documentation, finding gaps, digging to find root causes and discussing possible options. Without such a process, problem solving cannot be effective or efficient.

Here are 7 steps you can take to create an effective problem-solving strategy.

1. Define the problem clearly

Whenever a problem crops up, it requires evaluating instead of jumping right into creating the solution. Failing to define and evaluate the root cause of the problem leads to the development of a strategy that will not work, as this is equal to just treating the symptoms.

For instance, when the sales numbers from a new customer start dropping, most businesses will rush into creating a marketing master plan to increase brand exposure as a way of driving up sales. While this may work in the short term, it does not solve the root cause of the drop in sales.

Defining the problem ensures you don’t miss the root cause of the symptoms. To do this, you need to look at it from different angles.

• The competition: Is the promotion or pricing of a competitor hurting your sales? Take time to learn who the newest entrants in your niche are, and the strategies they are using to market their business or product. This may be the cause of the issues you are facing. 
• Your business model: Do you have a sustainable business model? You need to ensure that your growth plan is realistic and consider exploring other cost and pricing strategies.
• The market: Determine how world events and the economy are affecting your sales and customers.
• The team: Investigate possible issues affecting the team’s productivity. Equip them with the necessary tools and resources for success. 

2. Think about multiple possible solutions

The success of any problem-solving process is dependent on how well a business can design a solution. The design thinking approach is one of the most used strategies for problem-solving since it helps to see the issue from different perspectives, leading to creating different possible solutions.

For this to be possible, the business needs to involve a wide array of people in the problem-solving process.

3. Conduct a S.W.O.T analysis

A S.W.O.T analysis is an excellent way or any business to have a look at its strengths and weaknesses. For instance, the launch of a groundbreaking product may be a strength, but the low margins can be the weakness.

In a S.W.O.T analysis, a business will need to document all its external opportunities as well as strengths. This analysis is conducted to make it easier for an organization to become more self-aware. It is a strategic planning tool that helps you identify problems before they affect the business. This makes it easier for the organization to develop solutions before the problem actually arises.

4. Gather input from mentors and the team

When conducting analysis, it’s ideal to seek input from your team to get valued ideas, concerns and opinions on the issues the business is facing. The feedback you get from your mentors, and the team can make your moves more efficient and faster in your problem-solving agenda.

Bringing in your team ensures you use their experiences and expertise in your business to dig deeper and navigate all underlying issues that may have caused the problems you are experiencing. You can also use their ideas and input to craft possible solutions.

If you are a solo entrepreneur, you can benefit from gathering input from your mentors. It’s also advisable to connect with trusted business advisors to get a different view of your issues.

Having greater diversity amongst the people you bring into the problem-solving process can improve your chances of coming up with effective long-term solutions.

5. Prioritize potential solutions

When you allow different people to help you come up with different solutions for your problem, you increase the chances of having multiple possible solutions to a common business problem. With all the options you have, you can evaluate each solution's pros and cons and prioritize the best options in the list.

Always remember that no solution is foolproof. Taking time to go through possible solutions while evaluating their pros and cons increases your chances of implementing the best option of them all.

6. Make a decision

To be able to solve a business problem effectively, you need to decide on the solution to implement. The decision-making process involves settling on the right course of action and should be done as soon as possible to avoid further losses. Taking too long to make a decision only gives the problem more time to impact your business negatively.

Once you have possible, reliable solutions, you need to ensure you implement the solution immediately by choosing a solution and sticking to it.  

7. Track progress

The only way to know whether you have successfully solved a problem is by keeping track of the implemented solution. This can be achieved by defining what successful problem-solving looks like and determining how the solution should impact your business.

Some of the questions you can ask when tracking progress include:

• Did it work?
• Was it a good solution?
• Did we learn something through the implementation that can be applied to other potential problems?

The best way to track your progress is by identifying key metrics to track. For instance, you can choose to track your profit margins after implementing a solution. You can tell whether a solution is working by constantly setting and hitting milestones. It’s also important to keep an eye on other business metrics to ensure the solution does not bring rise to other problems. Keeping an eye on the progress will ensure you remain a step ahead of future challenges.

Don’t be afraid of going back to the drawing board to perfect your solution if you identify loopholes that require improvement. Problem solving is a continuous process.

The bottom line

When you are good at problem-solving, you become more valuable in your business, thus setting yourself up for more success. The simple steps highlighted above can make you a more efficient and effective problem solver for your business. Taking time to practice the steps and develop the skills makes the process more natural to you, making future problem solving a breeze.