Solve Problems

Want to solve problems more easily? You can, starting right now. Whether they are problems you have at home, or problems from science, work, or business - you can use special techniques to help you find solutions to all of them, and the following technique is one of the best.

A Story About Problem Solving

I wrote an ebook on buying cheap homes, based on our experience buying a house for $17,500. I didn't have much luck selling it, so I lowered the price to seven dollars. It still wasn't selling much, but at least I was getting no returns on the ones that sold, so the readers were satisfied with it.

I have sold ebooks and given them away. Free ebooks are used to generate interest in and traffic to websites - and are usually short. Both selling and giving away information are plans that can work, but I was assuming it had to be one or the other. A valid assumption, it seemed, but when I questioned it, I came up with a new way to solve the problem.

I decided to give the book away AND sell it. On the sales page, I gave visitors the option to get the book free as well. They subscribed, and received a chapter every few days by email - over three months. Of course I reminded them that they could go buy it right away at any time.

Sales started to pick up, and soon I was selling many more books than before. Readers like what they saw, and didn't want to wait to get the rest. I've since used this new method for selling other ebooks with some success.

Question Assumptions To Solve Problems

The most difficult part about questioning assumptions is identifying all the assumptions that we so easily and subtly make. If you learn to do this, though, you'll have some truly creative ideas and effective solutions. Write a list of assumptions you are making about the situation or problem. Write down even the most obvious "truths," and then begin questioning each item on the list.

If a man was always arguing with someone at work, and he wanted to restore peace in the office, he might write on his list of assumptions, "I need a better relationship with this fellow employee," and "We need to change our behavior." Once he questions these assumptions, he might realize he can change his own behavior, and that will be enough. He also might see that he really doesn't need a better relationship - he can just work away from this other employee.

Suppose you manufacture bicycles, and you want to produce a new product. Your assumptions could include that bicycles need wheels and have to be made of metal. Questioning the first assumption, you might imagine a "bike" with skis that hydroplanes on water when you pedal fast enough. Question the second and you may find there are advantages to using fiberglass or plastic instead of metal.

You also might ask "Do we really need a new product?" Is there more money to be made marketing existing products in new ways? This questions the problem itself. Questioning the primary assumption, or the definition of a problem, can often give you the most creative and useful ways to solve problems

Systematically questioning assumptions is just one problem solving technique. There are many more you can use. Make it a habit to use a few of them, and soon you'll solve problems more easily and creatively.

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Problem Solving 101 | Solve Problems