Problem Elimination, Not Problem Solving Should Be the New Focus

I met Ballu, a good friend, sometime back.  He happened to be of the very sociable types who always had a tale or two to tell.  Here is an interesting one he narrated.

"Some time back I happened to be in a review meeting and one of the things being discussed was a tool to automate some of the work being done by the people engagement managers.  The biggest selling point was that there are many problems that the team had to address and hence an automated tool would help them manage this in a manner that is simple, gives them flexibility and lets them be mobile and at the same time come up with wonderful snapshot of the problems solved.  This was the problem solving mind-set. And the natural tendency is for people to feel very happy to able to help address and solve problems. And our systems recognize this.  People are rewarded, they are encouraged, they are praised. And the problems continue to appear… from somewhere or the other….and it seemed like there is a factory for manufacturing problem that keep appearing and people waiting to solve them."

Our conversation continued… “How long will this solving the problem stuff continue?.  The next thing was to look for an alternative which was “eliminating the problem”

What we realized was that the more people came up with stories of how they solved a problem the more they were rewarded the more they were glorified…. they were promoted,  they had a great future....and That was the problem.

We needed to change our view point and look at focusing on “problem elimination”. rather than "problem solving"  Remember from my earlier blog on FOCUS.  (Click Here To Read the Focus Blog). So if your choice can be from among two things…solving the problem to eliminating the problem then the one you focus on gets the attention. .

There are some of you (or many..) who would have experienced that the same problems are recurring time and again. What problem we solved last year is up again the next year.  The problems faced by the predecessor are repeated just the way it happened earlier. 

When we focus on “problem elimination” the attention shifts from the problem of how to handle problems to a new way of looking at it… how to eliminate the problem.   What problem elimination means and how it can make our lives (both working and otherwise) more relaxed and enjoyable is what we shall explore in a coming post.

Interview Ready: A Unique and Socially Responsible Digital Effort By India’s Leading IT Organization (TCS)

Summary:  TCS has launched a unique mobile app called Interview Ready in the year 2014. This is a  one of its kind app which helps student and entry level job seekers to prepare well for a selection interview in a holistic manner.  Understand how to dress, speak, prepare, make and impact and most importantly how to make a good and informed career choice.  The app is available free of cost and readily accessible to anyone who wants it on Android and iOS Platforms.  Your simple share with your friends, colleagues and acquaintances who can benefit from it will make a difference to someone’s life. Click  Interview Ready Video to know more.

Every Graduating Student who aspires for a job will have a face a job interview for sure. At times the selection process may also include a group discussion or written test.

Getting through a job selection process including success in a job interview depends not only just how you performed in your exam or subjects you mastered but also on other factors like how well you can communicate, the confidence level, the knowledge you have of the industry or business understanding in general.  Your personal accomplishments and successes can also be a highlight and stand out during the process and can stand in your favor.  You come out shining and you land up in the job.

Now comes the second point (some questions) which are rather interesting “Is that the job you really should have taken up?”  “Was I meant to join some other industry”?  “Are my interests in other fields that what the job can offer?”.   Yes these are questions that come to the mind of many fresh graduates after they end up with their first job offer. This implies that they may not last long in their first job or even may not accept the offer. So it all boils down to whether they made an informed choice or not.  Whether they understood what the industry needed and what kind of work they could expect.  If there is no match between aspiration and what the jobs can offer there is low probability of a career being built.

The InterviewReady App created by TCS and available for free to anyone on both Android and iOS platforms is a unique app available in 6 different languages (English, Tamil, Bengali, Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Gujarthi and Arabic).  It is easy to use and set up and guides an individual on career choices by providing a view of work areas within a industry domain as well as tips and exercise how to prepare well for a face to face interview.  Although the app is designed to provide good exposure to Business Process Services organizations it will come in handy even if you are looking for a job in any other industry.  

To download the app visit this link

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tcs.interviewready&hl=en

Watch a video of the App Here:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdjpP-Cu6aE

To download the app and install on your smart device go to Google Play Store or iOS and search for TCS InterviewReady and download it for a worthwhile experience. 

Simple One... The Magic Number in Our Lives that We did not know much about !!!

This is a simple test to see how you relate to common numerals.  Below are few numbers and may mean something to you.  What I am looking for is what is the first thing that comes to your mind when you read that number.  

Now think aloud what comes to your mind when you read each of the below numbers? Don’t move forward till you complete each one and in the SAME ORDER AS BELOW.


13



9/11



100


168?

Now that you've thought Go Down !!!


































When it came to 13 some people thought of bad luck,  a dark omen or some even thought of good luck or good tidings etc.  What did you?



When it came to 9/11 a close 90% would remember the twin tower destruction of 2001


When it comes to 100 most folks either think of a century (cricket, India) or some think about a perfect score in an exam...or the police emergency no



168?  Hard Luck !!!  In case you didn't get It... Go DOWN Further

It is the number of hours at our disposal in ONE WEEK. That's the amount of time we have at our disposal to balance our work, personal lives,  interests,  health and wellness etc.  

Imagine without a clue on the quantum of time in a week at our disposal….and that it seems is the most important factor to plan our time... is the total time available and..... I wonder if I did not know how many hours I have at hand how do I plan to allocate my time between conflicting priorities.

Now it is easy to understand why so many people crib about  running out of time... not finding the right amount of time and attributing the problem outside of ourselves.

Here's a link to  my earlier blog post  explaining  importance of focus and how things get done   So bring Focus on 168 !!!

Have a Good Day !!! Remember your time available and that's the first step to effective time management.