Addressing Problems the Right Way

Mike Taylor
Real Kinetic Blog
Published in
4 min readMay 13, 2020

Stuff goes wrong at work from time to time. When it does, we tend to respond in one of three ways.

1. Alarm!

There is a problem! What are we going to do?!

2. Alarm! + Solution

There is a problem! Here’s what I think we should do.

3. Calm + Solution + Alarm

I think we should do this. Doing this will solve the problem.

The first type of response is both the easiest and the least productive. The second is vastly improved but still not ideal. The third is the most difficult and almost always results in the most productive outcome.

To explore each of these a bit, we’ll do it in the context of a relatively common problem like “The website is down!”

Response 1: The website is down! What should we do?

Speaking from firsthand experience, I know that it can feel good to be the one who sounds the alarm. Noble, even. I’m doing my part to escalate a critical thing, right? But, here’s the issue — when you respond this way, you are functioning like a smoke alarm: proficient at raising everybody’s blood pressure because there’s a problem, but not much else. You are infinitely more sophisticated than a smoke alarm. Not only do you have the ability to detect the smoke, but you can also mobilize the fire crew and begin moving the family to safety.

Responding to a problem this way is easy. It’s nearly a knee jerk reaction, especially when it’s something important like the website crashing. But easy, in this case, is often not helpful. It just spreads the panic.

Response 2: The website is down! Here’s what I think we should do.

Now you’re no longer merely acting like the smoke alarm, but you’re also contributing to the solution. Reacting this way will require more of you. It requires that you take a breath, slow down, and give a little thought to the problem. Don’t let your reflexes get the best of you. You are talented and equipped for this, so put that wit to work and offer what you think the solution is.

In practice, this response looks like:

The website is down! Let’s call Megan. She has solved this before and I bet she can help.

This is a massive improvement over the previous response, but it’s still worth taking it one step further.

Response 3: I’d like to call Megan. The website is down, but she can fix it.

It’s subtle, but it’s an important difference. In this instance, you have deliberately re-ordered the message by starting with the solution then moving into an explanation of how this will solve a problem. In critical moments, this approach will be the difference between “There’s a fire! Everyone out!” and “You need to get out of the house. There’s a fire, but you’re going to be okay.” One results in panic where the other leads to level-headed, swift action.

Communicating this way requires even more of you. Not only will you need to collect yourself and give some thought to the right solution, but you’ll also need to present the message with calm and clarity. This approach is as much about your demeanor as it is the content of your message.

What if people disagree with my solution?

People might not like your solution. That’s good and right. Talk it through. Even if the website is down, it’s not likely that lives are at stake. Take a moment to talk about alternatives or what ideas people have. Offer your solution as one alternative. You don’t need to have the best solution. Being the first to offer a solution will often get the proverbial solution snowball in motion. Somebody needs to get things rolling, it might as well be you.

What if I don’t have a solution at all?

You may not have a solution. In fact, any real problem of consequence will be complex and nuanced and the solution won’t be obvious. It’s also likely, however, that you at least have ideas for how to go about starting to solve the problem, or you know where to look to find possible answers. Start there. Develop your ideas and offer them, then ask for input and help.

What if I just take action on my own? Do I need to consult others?

It will always be a judgement call based on your situation, but for the most part, yes, you should absolutely take action to solve the problem on your own. Of course, it’s possible that, if you do, people will disagree with your decisions, or be upset that you acted without consulting them. In practice, though, I’ve found these cases are the exception, not the rule. As long as you’re not trying to be a hero or a lone wolf, people will appreciate someone who saw a problem and leapt into action to fix it. A bias toward action may sometimes have consequences, but more often than not, those consequences will be positive.

This is certainly not a perfect formula. There are many variations that are equally, or even more, viable. The point is, take initiative and get the process of solving started by resisting the urge to reflexively point out the problem and stop there.

In the industry I’m in, these lessons are particularly relevant for Incident Response policies, where we need guidelines for how to react when things go wrong. But perhaps more than solid policies, we would all benefit from a mindset developed through discipline and practice.

Problems always come with tension, stress, and conflict. There’s no way around it. Developing the discipline of a calm, thoughtful, response style that leads with your solution can mean the difference between a frenzied fire drill, and a level-headed, decisive response that is healthier for everyone in the end.

At Real Kinetic we help our clients solve complex problems with grace and composure. Learn more about what we do.

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Published in Real Kinetic Blog

Our thoughts, opinions, and insights into technology and leadership. We blog about scalability, devops, and organizational issues.

Written by Mike Taylor

Developing the discipline of Client Experience Design and working alongside some of the most sought-after creative talent in the technology space.