We problem solve every day. This happens. That crops up. We always work hard to provide solutions. We work on the problem. We change the ways we do things.
We approach problems as if they are one sided. What I mean by this is that we look at problems as if they stand alone because they are “outside of ourselves”. As if they are a chair that simply needs a leg replaced.
What happens is there is always an interface that we lose sight of when solving a problem. That interface is a human one. How we, as individuals, interact with the problem and the solution. Organizations as well need to be sensitive to this same human interface.
Web developers get this. They call it user experience. There is a renewed emphasis on design as being a value added item for things. Again, design worries about the human interface with the object. Good design makes that interface seamless.
So our thinking is incomplete when we only view the problem as only containing an object to be fixed. There is this human interaction with the object or issue that demands that we seek out two sided solutions to become more effective.
Yes, we could fix objects alone. But most times, there will need to be a second change, coming from a different direction to make a solution more effective. Sometimes we must change our thinking. Other times, we need to train or educate someone using an object in a different way to realize the solution we are seeking.
Two sided solutions take more thought to design and then implement. The upside of demanding a two sided solution is that we can diminish the frustrations that will occur during the implementation of a solution to a problem.
Quit rushing to fix only an object. Try more to understand what we are going to do with the chair once we fix it.