Healthcare Hullabaloo: Problem Solving 101

Pssst! Want some FREE EXPERT ADVICE on how to solve a problem? Not just this problem – almost any problem you might come across in business or life. Three simple steps to solving it – works almost every time. Trust me on this – my infomercial is coming out shortly, and it’s going to cost you Tony Robbins type money to get ‘the solution’ once I’m on TV, so you might as well grab it now when the gettings good (and FREE!)

Here it is:

STEP ONE: Identify when the problem didn’t exist

STEP TWO: Identify what has changed between the time when the problem didn’t exist and the time that the problem reared it’s ugly head

STEP THREE: Address the thing (or things) that changed and caused the problem in the first place!

Sound simple? Yup. Overly simple? Perhaps. But is it effective? ABSOLUTELY! You would be shocked how much time, effort and money people expend trying to solve problems without knowing or fully understanding what the problem truly is. And without that knowledge, they will only solve a problem by chance. If it is truly a complex problem, they will most likely never solve it, and probably make matters even worse by trying to solve it blindly.

For some reason, the larger the organization is that has the problem, the harder it is for them to identify the root cause and solve the problem. The more people involved in ‘the solution’, the more off the mark the perceived solution tends to be. This is quite prevalent in corporate America, and gets even worse in government. Will Rogers supposedly said “A camel is a horse designed by a government committee’ It rings as true today as it did back in the 1930’s. This is not a fault of ‘the government’ per se – it’s just a simple fact that the more people you have working on ‘a solution’, the more time is spent on bureaucracy. Most of us have been there and witnessed this for ourselves: people speaking just to hear themselves speak, meetings to discuss the agenda of upcoming meetings, Blackberries click-clacking away with endless memos and responses, and an overall shuffle where everybody tries (usually without success) not to step on anyone else’s toes (especially if that person makes more money than they do!) It’s a miracle when any work gets done at all…

Have you heard the story about that tractor-trailer that went off route and got wedged under an overpass with lower than normal clearance? While no one was hurt, the trailer was so firmly wedged in place that not even the stoutest tow truck could budge it. With traffic backing up for miles, the city and state sent in every expert they could muster to figure out how to remove the trailer from its spot under the overpass. Firemen with their rescue equipment, Local and State police, and Emergency Management agencies buzzed around the accident site, each one trying (and failing) to remove the trailer. These highly trained men and women had the very best in state-of-the art rescue equipment yet they all ultimately failed.

Supposedly, after several hours of watching this exciting scene, a little boy wandered up to a policeman and asked “Why don’t they just let the air out of the tires?”

So, what I am saying is, we don’t need a government committee to solve the healthcare crisis, we need a little boy with fresh eyes.

Has anyone seen my wed wagon?