Your CFO Partner / Thursday, February 7, 2019

Issue Identification: Define It

The biggest mistake you are making is not knowing, understanding and defining what the issue is.

“If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it.” - Albert Einstein

In business, there will always be issues that will need to be resolved to allow you to continue to move forward– that is the nature of being in business; therefore, the ability to define an issue is essential for business success. Albert Einstein highlights the importance of understanding and defining issues, and suggests that a well-defined problem often contains a solution and therefore is already half solved.

Sounds simple right? By identifying and defining issues properly, you make them easier to solve, saving time, money and resources. But this is the single biggest mistake people make because this indispensable skill is not taught and, consequently, is bypassed as people do not have the ability to correctly identify and define issues or challenges.

The first step is identifying the core of the issue, analysing the root cause and asking ‘why’, and continuing to ask ‘why’ until you get to the root cause. This will help to focus your efforts on the actual issue, rather than focusing on the symptoms of the issue, which is easy to get caught up in.

Identifying the root cause is essential to finding the right solution and the right responses, ultimately saving you time and resources on problem that is wishy-washy and poorly defined. Often the best way to find a solution is to engage with others outside of your business. as they can see around your blind spots that you, as the business owner, cannot.

Once you have identified the issue you can then take steps to solve it or create a solution. Depending on the issue, it may be straightforward or a little trickier, but don’t forget to ask if the issue is worth solving.

The key questions to ask yourself are: