Before You Fix the Problem, Fix Your Thinking

(Transcript edited for clarity.)

Hi, I'm Wes. Welcome to Before You Fix the Problem, Fix Your Thinking, or Most Problems Are Thinking Problems First.

This is kind of a follow-up from an episode I did a couple episodes ago.

What made me think of the follow-up was that I was recently working with a client.

I've known this off and on for several years working with clients, but the conversation we were having really brought this out: Why do clients use me? Why do my clients hire me?

For the most part, it boils down to two simple things.

The first thing is that I offer clear thinking.

Often when you're dealing with something difficult or something that's not going the way you want it to go, you can get emotional.

Usually I'm dealing with business clients, but some of my Life Systems clients have this also.

When you're dealing with a business problem and it doesn't seem to be going well, you can get emotional.

When you start becoming emotional about a problem, that's really the opposite of clear thinking.

So when a client comes to me with a problem, they're usually emotional in some way about it.

Different people handle things in different ways.

Sometimes you can't openly see the emotion, but once we start digging into the problem, we'll find an emotional component.

I have the same thing.

In my businesses, if something's going wrong and I can't get it solved, I'm struggling to solve it, or a system stops working the way it has or the way I want it to, it can be emotional.

You can get upset, irritated, angry, whatever.

Here's what I bring, and this is what you should be looking for when you're struggling with a problem you can't get fixed.

They bring me in, and I offer clear thinking, but I also offer an outside viewpoint.

In other words, they're very close to the problem, and I'm not as close to the problem.

My first job is analytical.

I'll look at the problem, usually from a different lens or viewpoint than they're looking at it.

That outside view often unlocks something they're not seeing because they're too close or they're emotional.

The other thing is my experience, because most of these problems I've seen, dealt with, and helped people with before.

But really, it's the clear thinking.

That's the number one reason.

The number two reason, closely related and slightly behind the clear thinking, is that once I find the problem or help them think through the problem, I'm all about clear and decisive action - quick action.

I find the problem, diagnose it, formulate a system, framework, or plan to fix it, and then immediately get them to start taking action.

This is not about you working with me.

This is about what you can learn from why many people who might be in the exact same position as you work with me, and what you should be looking for if you're dealing with a problem you can't seem to fix, isn't getting fixed as quickly as you'd like, or something is just wrong.

So let's go back to the start to tie all this in.

Before you fix the problem, fix your thinking, or most problems are thinking problems first.

Here's the question you should think about throughout this:

What needs to become clear in your thinking before you try to fix the problem?

Emotions get in the way if you're irritated, and sometimes you're too close to the problem.

That means you're not thinking clearly.

You either need to find a way, a system, or a framework to help you think more clearly through every problem, and/or find someone who can give you a view on the problem without the emotions or with experience dealing with problems like this before.

Again, this is about you improving whatever you're trying to improve or fixing whatever problem you're trying to fix.

Sometimes you can fix it, especially if you can train yourself to look at it analytically, logically, and without the emotion.

But sometimes we have trouble removing the emotion.

Those are the things we're going to go into a little deeper today, and that's my experience with it.

I'm not perfect at this when I'm dealing with my own problems.

I'm better than I used to be because I know what's happening, but that's why I try to remove the emotion from it.

Sometimes I can't remove the emotion from the problem immediately.

I have to step away from the problem for a little bit before I can get my emotional thinking in check.

The first problem you see is not always the real problem.

Maybe the problem you're working on is not the core problem.

The only way you can identify this and figure it out is through clear thinking - accurate thinking.

If you're trying to solve a problem and it doesn't seem to be getting solved, take a look.

Are you emotionally involved in some way?

Do you have an emotional view of this problem?

Is there somebody who is not emotionally attached who can look at this problem from a different lens or viewpoint?

Then you can start gathering facts and dig down to find the root cause of the problem.

You need to separate facts from assumptions, interpretations, and emotional reactions.

Again, emotions rarely lead to accurate thinking, but assumptions and interpretations can also play a big part in solving problems.

That's why at the beginning I said you need to fix your thinking first.

Now, when I title something "fix your thinking," that might seem like I'm saying your thinking is broken.

That's not always the case.

Sometimes your thinking is fine.

You just haven't taken it far enough, or you haven't removed the emotion from it so you can think accurately.

Here's a trick I've used.

I've found many times when I'm struggling to solve a problem, I ask whether the goal itself is clear before deciding what action to take to fix the problem.

A lot of times we see the problem, so we focus on the problem.

Sometimes that works, but sometimes the problem is not what it looks like.

It's because we haven't defined the goal or what we're trying to achieve clearly enough.

That plays into what I'm talking about when I say it's a thinking problem first.

Fix your thinking.

It doesn't mean your thinking is wrong, but it might mean you need to think about it from a different angle or more deeply.

Maybe go back to whatever goal you're trying to accomplish that led to the problem you're trying to fix.

Think about that goal and make sure it's the right goal, it's clear, and you're attacking the right problem.

Look for a weak question, false choices, or a bad problem definition before working harder.

Sometimes we don't define the problem correctly.

That's back to the emotions.

If you're irritated, you might be defining the problem incorrectly.

You might be asking the wrong question or a weak question.

Or, like I did an episode recently that covered this more in depth, maybe you're working on a false choice.

Maybe you're thinking it's either choice one or choice two, when if you think about it more, there might be other choices or options.

Better execution - working harder, working better - cannot fix things if you're working in the wrong direction.

They can't fix it until you think it through and get back in the right direction.

Think long enough to improve whatever actions you're taking, then take action before you think so much that it turns into delay.

It's a balance.

It's a balance that most people only get through years and years of experience.

But if you start recognizing that there's a balance here, you can start intentionally working on creating the right balance.

You need to think through everything enough, but you can't keep thinking so long that it delays taking action.

That's the balance I'm talking about.

It's a thinking problem first, but as soon as you solve the thinking part of the problem, you need to immediately take action.

Go back to what I was telling you at the beginning.

Most of my clients work with me because I offer clear thinking, an outside view, and experience.

But the second part is just as important.

I help them design and implement a decisive action plan quickly.

Think it, fix it, take action immediately.

That's the balance.

I've fallen into this many times myself over the years, and that's why I recognize it when it's happening.

First, I often recognize, "This is not the right problem. We haven't thought this all the way through."

Or I find, "They've got it figured out, but they're not taking action because they're afraid."

They're afraid they don't have enough information.

They're afraid they need to think it through more.

That's the balance you're looking for.

Again, I learned this because I've done the same thing.

I've taken action before I defined the real problem or did enough thinking.

And I've kept thinking, looking, and researching, and it delayed me taking the action I needed to take.

So again, here's the question for you today.

Here's what I need you to think about to help you:

What needs to become clear in your thinking before you try to solve a particular problem?

This is Wes, Your Life Systems.

Thanks for being with me.

Good luck.

Please like and subscribe.

I'll see you soon.

What's Next?

·        Choose one problem you're struggling to solve.

·        Notice whether frustration, fear, or another emotion is shaping how you see it.

·        Write down the known facts separately from assumptions and interpretations.

·        Ask whether the goal itself is clear.

·        Get an outside perspective if you're too close to the problem.

·        Once the problem is clear enough, build the action plan and move.

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