by Amy Slattery
We have our annual breakfast coming up in
Adelaide on the 2nd of June so I was very excited to interview 2 of
our guest speakers who will be joining us – Naomi Nwayco and Mike Simon.
As with a lot of things, there is so much gold
in the conversations you have with people who are where you want to be (and in
this case working towards a life of financial freedom), so the time I spent
chatting to each of them before we started rolling was invaluable (I’ve
recently bought a new house and now have a couple of ideas from Naomi on how I
can make money from my new home)!
Both had some amazing qualities in common,
what resonated with me were two things – an overwhelming sense of BELIEF that
they really could ‘do it’ and that essentially they were problem solvers (a
creative problem solver as Naomi would describe).
So from my moments of gold with Naomi and
Mike I wanted to share with you my 7 Keys To Problem Solving.
1. Get Curious!
This is a new thing for me…I’ll be honest
I’m conditioned as a ‘teller’ rather than a questioner, however in developing
my coaching skills I have now become an annoying 5 year old child…”why is
that”…”why do you think that”…”why”…”why”…”why”. I am amazed at how asking ‘WHY’ questions can
get you right to the root cause! Be
critical, avoid bias and ask open ended questions.
2. Look at the problem as a possible opportunity (the opportunity to
help)
Problems can be a pain in the butt…if you
think of them that way, but what if you just changed the way you think of a
problem? What if you saw them as an
opportunity? In business solving a
client or customers problem/s is the reason we are in business!
3. Don’t get stuck in your own head
Past experiences, conditioning and our
mindset can lead us down a certain solution path. Having awareness and questioning yourself “am
I being unbiased” or “am I using emotion rather than logic” or “are there other
factors leading me towards that idea”.
Question yourself along the way!
4. Be an information gatherer
Look at all angles and pay attention to
solutions that aren’t currently in use.
Now don’t fall prey to analysis paralysis! Also get information from the right sources (I’m
not going to get advice on a share portfolio from someone that doesn’t have
their own…but not only that they need to be making money from it).
5. Sleep On It
Sometimes time is key! For big decisions or big problems to be
solved, sometimes you need some time.
Don’t be afraid to defer your judgment (unless of course it is life
threatening!). Letting the process
simmer in your unconscious over a good nights sleep can lead to revelation in
the morning (or commonly in that morning shower).
6. Worst Case Scenario
At the moment I am listening to 4 hour Work
Week by Tim Ferris (highly recommend it).
I love that he talks about understanding the true worst case scenario –
this is something I have been good at!
For example in launching The 7 Effect with Jodie, the worst case
scenario was that if it didn’t work out I would find another job, if that took
too long I could move in with mum and mooch off her for a bit until I got
myself back on my feet – basically in the extreme case no one would DIE!
Consider what the worst case scenario could
be, be mindful of what your own comfort zone could be stopping you from moving
forward with - if your worst case scenario really isn’t that bad…a bruised
ego…a red face…having to possibly ask for forgiveness later, then really that
isn’t that bad.
*disclaimer of course in this process you
don’t want to cause harm or bring hardship on to others.
7. Go with your gut!
Sometimes things are ‘go with your gut’
moments, you’ve asked the right questions, you’ve come up with some
solutions…you’ve ticked all the boxes and now its time to go with your
solution! If your values are clear, a
gut decision can sometimes be the best way to move forward. Go with conviction and belief in yourself!
Problems are a way of life, they are what
make us grow, they test our strengths and our resilience. Like a muscle the more you work on these
skills the better you will become at solving them!
Remember a problem is only a problem if you
think of it that way.
