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Every Problem Needs a Solution

No matter where you reside on the organizational ladder, you are going to confront problems. They’re inevitable and merit a double reaction—to accept them and to do something about them.

Forget about the past and what could or should have been. It’s too late now. Sure, learn from what happened or went wrong so that you don’t repeat it, but invest not in feeling helpless or defeated but in moving things to a better place.

The most efficient way around an obstacle or problem is to recognize a way, the best way, forward. Sometimes that takes courage or creativity, but it also takes persistence to overcome whatever has occurred.

It could be a management mistake or a leadership shortcoming. It could be poor business performance or a bad financial decision. It could be a fraudulent action or even a failing business endeavor. Whether political, economical, or managerial, the problem needs a solution.

Once you’ve identified the problem, define its seriousness and impact. Formulate a strategy to resist or reverse the dilemma. Allocate resources to apply to the wound. Administer thoughtful actions that can serve as a surgical solution. Allow time for the healing and evaluate the results to ensure that there has been a cure.

Sometimes you may have a problem that you never saw coming. When General Powell formed America’s Promise in 1997, we felt it was a benevolent cause. Putting helpful resources into the lives of the 15 million at-risk American youth seemed like a caring, responsible thing to do. It was an “if we are needed, we are there” response to a societal cancer that was spreading.

We assembled a staff and set them on various missions to create partnerships with both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Those collaborations stirred commitments to raise the level of people, spaces, money, healthcare, classrooms, and services for children at risk. With Colin Powell making the ask, the willingness to give to the cause came in the form of an impactful movement by America’s Promise on behalf of at-risk kids.

Little did we realize we had stirred up a hornet’s nest. Not all but some nonprofit organizations, many of which had been in existence for decades, felt threatened. We had infiltrated their territory and caused some of them to feel under siege.

As his chief of staff, I came in daily contact with nonprofit leaders, some of whom seemed wary of us. They didn’t come out and say it directly, but I sensed their concern with our very existence. The not-for-profit world directed toward serving at-risk children is not so large that we couldn’t sense a credibility problem by the very reaction of some to our existence.

Finally, I went to the general, who as chairman of America’s Promise needed to know we had a perception problem. We discussed how to calm the nerves of the nonprofit community leaders who felt we had invaded their turf.

What to do? We recognized we had a problem; it was more perception than reality but a problem nevertheless. We were committed to act in a way that would resolve the problem. We realized we needed to build bridges to create a culture of collaboration and cooperation, not competition and conflict.

We arrived at a strategy. It was to look other nonprofits in the eye, so to speak, and through face-to-face discussions allow them to air their concerns. We hoped to negotiate a settlement to the perceived problem and convince them that we harbored no ill will or desire to take or steal anything or anyone they felt was their due.

With the help of a nonprofit colleague who knew the community well and knew those who felt threatened we set a date and place that seemed neutral enough, the Salvation Army headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, to convene a meeting. We invited one and all nonprofit leaders to come and hear our motives for helping children, discuss their concerns about how that might interfere with their missions to do the same thing, and determine how we might resolve those issues that were in contention.

It was a midmorning to midafternoon affair. The general spoke his piece first, which was designed to be conciliatory. Many others in response expressed their views as well. Frank, open discussion prevailed. At the end of the session, we had seemingly assuaged any concerns that had preexisted. We let them know we did not want what rightfully belonged to them. Rather, we wanted to be a partner and a friend. It’s amazing how healthy dialogue can lead to helpful relationships.

When all was said and done, we had engaged in a problem-solving process that worked for us and can work for others as well. It starts with recognizing the problem, identifying the issue or issues involved, and being committed to a valid solution.

Solutions are the hardest part. Understanding the interests of everyone involved sets you on a path of determining the problem-solving options available to you. Evaluate each one, weighing the merits and demerits. Select the best option available and agree to monitor and evaluate the progress being made.

If you are ever in a position to identify a problem, you can ignore it or do something about it. If it’s smoldering, you have time to be a bit more deliberate than you do if it’s a raging inferno.

Either way, you have an obligation to the boss, actually two obligations. First, you need to let him or her know there’s a problem. Second and more important, you need to come armed with a proposed solution to whatever the threat might be. Otherwise you become part of the problem yourself.