Consiglio: the missing step in problem resolution is asking “how has this problem been dealt with in the past?”.

The common approach to problem solving goes something like this:

1. Identify the problem
2. Come up with potential solutions
3. Implement a solution
4. Observe results/ adjust.

THIS DOES NOT PRODUCE EFFECTIVE RESULTS.

The effective way to solve a problem is this:

1. Identify the problem
2. Research previous attempts to solve this or similar problem(s) in the past
3. Based on your research, come up with a solution that is likely to produce your intended results
4. Implement the solution
5. Observe results. If poor, repeat steps 2 -5.

Source: my former career as an occupational health and safety consultant. You wouldn’t believe how much time, money, resources and even human lives are lost due to skipping this step. It’s infuriating. And it’s the reason lots of “solutions” being implemented all over the world RIGHT NOW are resulting in even bigger problems than the one they started with.

One of the most wonderful things about being human is our ability to learn from mistakes- both our own and others’! But failing to learn from history dooms us to repeat historical mistakes.