At first, the immediate response for most managers is that it's much better to prevent a problem from happening than to deal with it. Foreseeing what might happen in the future is a way to prevent its occurrence and avoid having to solve problems inside the company.
However, before reaching a definitive conclusion like that, we need to consider what kind of problems we are talking about. After all, is every problem to be solved a bad one?
If you still have this doubt, keep reading this article and understand why the ability to solve problems is such a valuable characteristic in today's corporate world.
Should every problem be avoided?
A skill that has been gaining more and more prominence in the professional sphere is problem-solving, as some problems are unpredictable and, why not say, inevitable.
On the other hand, there are those who advocate the maxim that it is much more important to prevent problems from occurring within an organization, so as not to need emergency measures to “put out fires” and correct unforeseen events.
The point we wish to highlight is that a problem doesn't always need to be seen as something negative. This means that some problems do indeed require preventive measures so that the company's operations are not harmed. Incidentally, some of them even end up causing financial losses and damaging the organization's reputation.
However, some problems can end up being beneficial for the company's growth and improvement of results.
What problems are bad?
Bad problems are those that come as a surprise, originating from some deviation from routine operations. An example of a problem that every company needs to avoid is accidents involving employees. Every manager must take precautions, following safety regulations according to the specifications for the type of activity carried out in the workplace.
Another problem that can arise unexpectedly and therefore needs to be avoided is equipment failure, which requires periodic maintenance as a preventive measure.
Of course, some problem of this kind can arise, despite preventive measures, however, its incidence can be minimized through a careful training process and a good routine management.
When is problem-solving good for a company?
We can consider that a problem created by the manager himself, when they are not satisfied with a certain result and intend to improve it, is not a bad problem. Dissatisfaction with an undesirable outcome becomes a motivation for organizational improvement; in other words, this is where problems that we can call “beneficial” arise.
Every company, in reality, exists to solve a problemof your audience, so it's worth saying that every employee should have problem-solving skills. If a business doesn't have problems to solve, what would its employees be doing there anyway?
Many managers avoid seeking out and analyzing problems, but failing to look for the weaknesses and deficiencies in their processes can mean stagnation or missed opportunities.
In today's market, employees who can identify new problems and, most importantly, propose solutions for them should be valued. The team's role should be to find the source of the problem, its root cause, and then work to find the most effective solution for it.
From there, the next step is to create a action plan and engage the entire organization in its execution. Furthermore, it is crucial to learn from the problem, if it results from failures in some processes, so that the error is not made again.
So, now can you arrive at a precise answer about what's worth more: solving problems or preventing them from happening? As we've seen, it all depends on the type of problem at hand.
If you liked this content, you'll probably also be interested in the article where we talk about Risk Management in Projects.
Stratec has developed a corporate management system that can help your company's managers identify problems more quickly and track their resolution. Learn about our Strategic Management software:
