Understanding Where Is Your Problem

Throughout my entire professional career, no matter what was my position, I remained a maintenance engineer. Those of us, later became good in our practice, wеre loaded in the head, that technical problems or malfunctions should be predicted and extinguished in the fetus, before any appearance. All technical maintenance of a production plant must be based on this in a way that factory works and makes money. And I learned to do so. I even started to look in future. As yesterday, I remember the moment when one of my previous managers told the Production manager – Stop for this repair, because all he predicted – everything happened! Those days managers listened to me and on second year of my Maintenance management, I was totally bored. Nothing broken. For my comfort, I was promoted in Business Unit Production Manager. There I found that same approach is valid also. For few months we managed to double production capacity and reduce scrap by 50% - best sweet dreams of all professionals in this field, isn’t it? Later I found that all this is valid even for Project management in much, much greater scale. Just method works.

My ability to foreseen problems way before they appear and their impact to situational development, had its high tide on a business dinner. A customer decided to place logical/construction test during the first meal – interesting, close to geometry problem they had to solve in the country in the past. All participants on table were engineers and all tried to solve the task. Without success. Thus, we were about to cancel this heavy brainstorm over light dishes, when I told myself: If there is an answer, our guest would be kind to share. And I just imagined what would happen if we ask him… And there it came the answer. And it was right. Customer was really impressed and from this moment the look on the younger member of company (me) was different.

But, there are also bad news.

This my ability to look in future became my greatest problem.

You have solved what problem? – it has never existed! This problem we have never had!

And my favorite – Are you sure that the problem was so serious and you have done something really useful? One step to be told that I simulate and create panics.

Production people are different kind. They cannot predict problems, because in most of cases that managers have not risk thinking and situation analysis. They even go further – by seeing a problem, they do not solve. They fertilize it, they water it, growing to extend of a problem of everybody. Meanwhile they think, play with situation and when the time is right – come with problem management and action plan and go out as heroes of the day. Everybody congratulates them what big problem they have solved, how dedicated and involved are in the work, etc.

And I hear – They solved the problem, what you did as well?! – no arguments to this logic…



Unfortunately, in all languages, making problems to an organization is called sabotage.

Even more...