SOLUTION VS PREVENTION

How many times have you heard someone tout their ability to solve problems? Being a problem- solver is a resume-worthy skill in just about any profession. However, what if instead of solving problems, you could prevent them? Wouldn’t this be a more valuable skill?

Problem-solving by nature is a reactive process. Something happens that shouldn’t, and you have to determine how to proceed. Problem-preventing is a proactive process in which you anticipate what could go wrong and take action up front to ensure it doesn’t. Anticipation is the first step in problem-prevention.

As a business owner, you will inevitably deal with problems. Being a problem-solver is in the unwritten job description of every business owner out there. The good news is that there is a way to deal with fewer problems!

As with so many things in life and business, communication is the key to success when dealing with problems. Clients will have complaints or questions, or something may happen that is out of your control, and you will have to deal with it. But anything that IS in your control, should rarely if ever become problematic.

Last week we talked about the importance of being able to anticipate questions and/or issues your customers may have or information that they may require when working with you. (Click HERE to read that article if you missed it!) While you can’t anticipate every little thing that may happen when working with someone, over time you will learn that some things are more likely to come up and you can address them early before they become an issue.

When you learn what to anticipate so you can deal with things early, you cross the line from problem-solver to problem-preventer. Remember that most of the time, the steps needed to prevent a problem will be much smaller and easier to implement than the remedies needed to fix a problem once it exists!

Think about it. We take steps every day to prevent problems: brushing our teeth, changing the oil in our car, getting our home heating and air conditioning units checked, taking vitamins, eating right, exercising…all things we do daily help us to prevent problems later in our lives. It should be no different in your business.

Becoming a problem-preventer takes time and experience. Luckily, there are steps you can take to learn the art of prevention more quickly. Here are 7 ways you can help yourself become a better problem-preventer:

1. Transparency – communicate early and often with your teams and clients – give them all the important information they need before they know they need it. Learn to anticipate questions that may arise so that you can provide the answers up front.
2. Ask for feedback or others’ experiences – you can learn just as much from someone else’s perspective and experience as your own. Ask your clients for honest feedback. Use that feedback to alter your practice as needed to ensure you are creating the customer experience you want to deliver.
3. Think hypothetically – I also like to call this thinking forward or anticipating. Think about what could happen and how you might deal with it if it does happen. Don’t go down the rabbit hole here though, keep your hypotheticals within the realm of likely or possible so you can create realistic plans for those situations.
4. Create solutions to your hypothetical ideas – again, stay out of the rabbit holes 😉 Keep it logical and realistic so you have a plan to fall back on when/if the hypothetical situation becomes a real one.
5. Look back on your experiences – especially the not-so-great ones – what could you have done better or differently that could have helped that situation? You will learn something from every client you work with. Sometimes you will make mistakes that lead to learning experiences and sometimes your client will be the root of the learning experience (let’s be real, we have all had THAT client that was just a pain to work with…you might have gotten the deal done but working with them was not the best experience for you). The important thing is to remember that you learned how to deal with that type of issue or that type of client and now you can use that knowledge in the future.
6. Take accountability – when you make a mistake, own it. Rectify it, and then remember it. You will make mistakes as you work with clients but by making them right, you will learn how to avoid it again.
7. Listen to your clients – ask your clients the questions you need answered – ask them about their experience with you. It might be hard to get brutal honesty, but that is the only way you can grow. Ask them if they thought you were knowledgeable about your industry, did you communicate effectively, were you available when you said you would be, did you answer their questions and concerns thoroughly, etc. Honest feedback will help you develop better systems going forward.

In business, practicing prevention can mean the difference between success and failure. Often the cost of waiting to solve a problem is extensive and can gravely damage your business financially, and even if it doesn’t, your reputation is worth far more than you likely think it is (remember the BP oil spill in 2010?). Your reputation, your brand is worth any preventative measures you can take to ensure successful transactions for each client you serve.

I hope this article has helped you think about the ways you can be proactive and prevent problems before they occur in your business so that you never find yourself having to react to them!
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Ciao for now!