June 15th, 2009

Miawadsworth asked:
Are you frustrated with itchy scalp problems? It is unbelievable that some medical conditions work as causes for the occurrence of itchy scalp. Use of chemically rich hair products, allergic reaction to hair dyes, poor hair care, massage of the scalp with poor hair oil, rubbing the scalp vigorously, drying the hair with a dirty towel and formation of lice and dandruff are some causes of scalp problems.
Several itchy and dry scalp problems
Contact dermatitis that is one of dry scalp problems causes rash and itch. It results from the allergic reaction of the scalp skin. It may be irritating. Using soaps, shampoos and hair dyes that are rich in alcohol is the chief cause of contact dermatitis. If it is caused by a hair product, many people can endure it. Antibiotics are often prescribed, if the affected scalp becomes infected.
Cradle cap in infants and dandruff in adults are known as seborrheic dermatitis that is one of itchy scalp problems. This sort of itchy scalp is primarily caused by excessive formation of scale on the skin of the scalp. Cradle cap affects many babies in the first few months of their birth. Nizoral shampoo offers a good treatment. Reducing the frequency of using soaps, moisturizing and careful drying can help these scalp problems.
Psoriasis, one of scalp problems appears as red rashes on the surface of the scalp. The scalp skin affected with psoriasis becomes thickened. Itching sometimes occurs. Other body parts, which can be affected with psoriasis, are the elbows, the knees and ********. 4% of the total population are prone to psoriasis. Ultraviolet light, steroid drugs and topical preparations are some treatment options.
An itchy scalp sometimes develops lice. Lice are commonly found in children. It spreads from one to another through close contact. Lice cause an itching sensation at the back of the head and behind the ears. Scratching the scalp plagued by lice causes red bite marks.
Important things about Psoriasis infection
The scalp when infected with psoriasis sheds dead cells off its skin. Dandruff results from the shedding of dead cells. It can be healed with medicated shampoos. White flakes in this case are larger. Brushing the hair frequently and vigorously to shed these flakes can cause inflammation and aggravate the problem.
Psoriasis at the back of the neck is often very itchy. It can make you feel an urge to scratch the skin. Although scratching makes you feel relieved, it actually worsens the condition.
When earlobes develop psoriasis, the backside skin of the earlobes becomes delicate. Little exposure to sunlight and air keeps the earlobes moist at the back. The moist earlobes are prone to infection and you should wash earlobes and dried them at both sides.
Inflammation of the hair follicles along the parting line and at the back of the head is another scalp problem. It results when psoriasis develops along the hairline and at the parting. Too much brushing or combing of the hair aggravates these sorts of scalp problems.
Herbal remedies for natural treatment of scalp problems
Natural oils that are made of herbal extracts are no doubt highly effective for the efficient treatment of both dry scalp problems and itchy scalp problems. Natural oils are soothing for the scalp and nourishing for the hair. They are zero in chemical substances that cosmetic hair products contain and full of conditioning properties. Some natural oils for the treatment of scalp problems are as Zinc Pyrithione, Jojoba, Basil, Tea Tree, Lavender, Lemon, Chamomile, Rose, Peppermint, Rosemary and Neem. All of these herbal oils are rich in anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. They also work as a scalp moisturizer. You can also use the ?Soothing Scalp Remedy? liquid; it is a perfect treatment for itchy scalp problems.
The benefits that treatment of scalp problems with these herbal oils yields are as follows:
Promote hair growth
Give a shining look to the hair
Remove dandruff and lice
Moisturize the dry scalp
Nourish the hair follicles
Help do away with seborrheic dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis and other scalp problems
Keep sebum in balance
Removes redness
Importance of diagnostic tests for itchy scalp
Diagnostic tests are necessary for inspection of symptoms that manifest with the occurrence of itchy scalp, when pictures of scalp problems become severe. Severity of scalp problems is determined by inspecting the features of skin rash. Macular, papular, vesicular, bullous, pustular and scaly are typical skin rash features. They help identify the causes and symptoms of several scalp problems. Knowing the cause and symptom of itchy scalp is necessary to determine the mode of treatment for scalp problems.
Prevention is better than cure. It is the best of precautionary measures for protection from itchy scalp. Itchy scalp is a common scalp-related skin disorder. Proper care of the hair and scalp using herbal hair products and a clean towel keeps you away from scalp problems. You need not worry even if it becomes a case of medical treatment. A proper approach to medical treatment can help effectively.
Tags: Chief Cause, Close Contact, Contact Dermatitis, Cradle Cap, Dandruff, Dry Scalp, Hair Dyes, Hair Oil, Hair Product, Hair Products, Lice, Nizoral, Poor Hair, Rashes, Scalp Problems, Scalp Skin, Shampoos, Steroid Drugs, Topical Preparations, Total Population
Posted in Health | No Comments »
June 15th, 2009

Andrew Sandon asked:
Environmental problems in Africa
The environmental problems seem to be key challenges of the XXIst century. In the previous years the world politics and every person in general was occupied with politics and wars. But with the development of new technologies, with the increasing number of plants and factories all kind of manufacturing in general, a huge shift was made towards the environmental issues. The terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments have declined in virtually all aspects. New developments in industry and manufacturing were root causes of environmental degradation over the past three decades. The rapid growth of population, urbanization and globalization are the driving force of the environmental problems. However, the challenge is extremely high not only for the well-developed regions, but in poor parts of the world as well. Such environmental problems as land degradation, deforestation, declining of marine resources and water scarcity of deteriorating of water and air quality are on the priority list in Africa. Despite, Africa possesses wealthy natural resources many Africans live in poverty unable to benefit from the African wealth because of uneven distribution across the continent and partly because of African complicated history over the past 50 years after the decolonization.
Africa has a vast majority of poor states and regions, and poverty is a major reason and consequence of the environmental degradation. The present paper ascertains the small research on the environmental issues in Africa. In the work I will analyze one Africa region, demonstrating its problems in the environment. At the end I will point out the root cause of these problems and suggest possible ways out, if there are any.
In general a vast majority of countries in Africa depend more on their natural resource base for economic and social needs than any other region in the world. Thus, two-thirds of sub-Saharan Africa’s people live in rural areas and rely on agriculture and other natural resources for income. Sub-Saharan states of Africa are right the countries, where environmental problems are first on the agenda. The environmental problems have already waited a long time for their turn. Among them there are air and water pollution, inefficient use of natural resources, oil spills and so on. Environmental problems of sub-Saharan Africa also include air and water pollution, deforestation, loss of soil and soil fertility, and a dramatic decline in biodiversity throughout the region. nest paragraphs will face the problems in more details.
It is quite understandable that the environmental problems in Sub-Sahar region are crucial and severe. The most compelling problem in Sub-Saharan Africa is that it has one of the world’s fastest growing populations (approximately 2.2% a year). With the fast grow of the population the environmental challenge increase. By the year 2025 according to some estimation, the population of the African people will be over a billion. This means that the environmental challenges will definitely double or triple. Some literature indicate that Sub-African countries managed to perform more effective economic policies, which influenced the development in the region in general, but GDP growth has stagnated recently and it is obvious that with the stagnation of the economics will cause decrease in the solution of the ecological challenges.
Poverty also is the main factor that influences the development of the environmental issues. And it also exists in Sub-Sahar region, despite the region is not that poor in the comparison with other regions in Africa and in spite of the wealth natural resources. In general the problems in sub-Sahar and in Africa in common was addressed during the World Summit on sustainable Development (WSSD) which was help in South Africa in August 2002. Basically, the material of the summit points out main environmental problems and challenges. The key issues which dominate African environmental problems were addressed during the summit. They include:
1. Water pollution and sanitation. First of all water pollution is caused by oil transmission n ship ports, water resources poor management, lack of financial resources required for sustainable development and efficient utilization of resources, absence of effective regional and basin development plans and shared management, and under-estimation of the groundwater potential to supplement irrigation and drinking water supplies. Thus, Africa’s freshwater problems are acute and worsening. Freshwater shortage is the two greatest limits to development in Africa;
2. Energy. Energy consumption in sub-Saharan Africa varies dramatically and dominates fuel consumption. According to reports the use of wood for fuel is predominant in both rural and urban locations and accounts for approximately 70% of total energy use. This cause another problem deforestation. In Sub-Sahara region Nigeria consistently leads to commercial energy consumption. Thus, according to data in 2001, Nigeria consumed 0.92 quadrillion Btu (quads), 32% of all energy consumed in the region. Although domestic demand for energy consumption in sub-Saharan Africa is growing rapidly, consumption levels remain well below world averages. I would like to mention but few words about deforestation. Africa is home to one of the world’s largest rain forests. It is obvious that rain forests are lungs of the Earth and their reduction cause air pollution. They protect and stabilize soils, recycle nutrients and regulate the quality and flow of water. Deforestation is one of the most pressing environmental problems not only in Africa but in other parts of the world and has negative implications for the local and global environment. Forests cover about 22 per cent of the region, but they are disappearing faster than anywhere else in the developing world. During the 1980s Africa lost 10.5 per cent of its forests. Thus, African forests are shrinking as a result of deforestation;
3. Deforestation causes another problem - biodiversity. The richness of African biodiversity requires greater protection and a sustainable use that will ensure the income of those who depend on it. There is a need to maximize biodiversity landscape protection, to give priority to biodiversity areas close to areas of high population density, and to give balanced attention to such regions as the arid and semi-arid areas.
4. Oil pollution. Oil pollution is one of the issues that must be specified being a controversial subject of heated discussion among the representatives of the academia. In a number of countries such as Nigeria and Angola, fore example, oil is the principle source of benefits. However it is pretty clear that new technologies used in oil exploration are extremely harmful for the environment. Environmental problems are common and rise heated debates. On the one hand, it expands relations among states, diversify trade relations, bring benefits. But, on the other hand, the benefits from oil are not fairly distributed among the population. The revenues from oil mainly belong to some local government communities or certain groups of interest. But the commons of Sub-Sahara have to face the oil-related problems.
5Agriculture. Increased food insecurity resulting from rapid population growth, degradation of agriculture and arable lands, and mismanagement of available water resources combined with poor economic policies to support food production. Land degradation is also a serious environmental problem. However, Africa owns vast areas of unexploited arable land which could be exploited in the future through the integrated management of land, water and human resources.
After the Summit was held sub-Saharan Africa many problems were clear. To summarize, the address of environmental issues first of all lie in environmental awareness. But what was done to address the challenges? First, many problems in this region received more attention than in past and The United States pledged $4.5 billion over the next three years to combat HIV/AIDS and improve access to safe water. Many projects were launched by international organizations and NGOs in order to promote forest conservation. European Union was also involved in the process of combating the issues and helped in brining water and sanitation services. These events were helpful but did not solve the whole spectrum of problems. Moreover, it is clear that external participation is not obviously enough in addressing complicated problems. It is understandable that local governments have to work hard on the solving. The environmental problems that were addressed in the paper are not unique and can be found in many regions of our planet, especially where poverty flourish. But not only poverty is the decisive factor in pollution. Russia, for example is the state which suffers from the water and air pollution caused by nuclear developments. The problem was not resolved completely as Russia does not want to cease the development of nuclear infrastructure, but it was addressed at least party. It is important to notice that a vast majority of states face environmental issues and problems, they may vary from region to region, but in general almost every region on this planet where urbanization or globalization takes place is a subject to environmental problems. Moreover, environmental issues may vary from one region to another, but still may have an impact upon different sphere of economics or social spheres. To cap it all the environmental issues need regular monitoring, assessments and public reports of the state.
Water pollution is one of the examples of growing global awareness and efforts made to combat the issue. It must be noticed that the environmental impacts associated with oil exploration and development was the controversy surrounding the World Bank’s approval of the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline Project in June 2000.
Thus, the summit, which was held on Sub-Sahar issue draw the attention of a number of developing states and the world hegemony the United States as well as regional or international organizations. The awareness of the problems made these entities to collaborate on the issue. The increase of problems awareness influenced also the attention of local governments. But it is clear that some states of Africa because of their poverty undoubtedly need the interference of stronger states in the resolution of the problems. It was stated at the beginning of the paper that environmental problems are rather new and some of them are not more that 10 or 20 year old. To most extent they were caused by globalization and urbanization. Thus, is they are caused by global inadequate levels of population grow and demands for more water and oil, then the burden of their resolution is also global. It is true that the increase in environmental awareness made people more persistent in the demands toward local governments. But the forceful demands are not enough, as significant regions in Africa are poor and suffer from poverty issue. This means that it is important to increase environmental awareness within the general public, but because of poverty it can not lead sometimes to strong and necessary changes. Hence, the key challenge for Sub-African region is to reduce poverty. New approaches must be found and it is important to organize investment climate. Establishing a positive investment climate in Africa is increasingly important to face the environmental problems in the regions, which are only involved in oil production.
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Tags: Africa Region, Causes Of Environmental Degradation, Countries In Africa, Decolonization, Environmental Issues In Africa, Environmental Problems, Key Challenges, Land Degradation, Marine Environments, Marine Resources, Natural Resource Base, Poor States, Problems In The Environment, Root Cause, Root Causes, Sub Saharan Africa, Three Decades, Uneven Distribution, Water Scarcity, Xxist Century
Posted in Environment | No Comments »
May 13th, 2009

Christine Casey Cooper asked:
When things go wrong, does your organization put its energy into finding the guilty parties to blame? Or does your organization work to solve problems?
We have developed into a blaming society. Mom blames the older siblings when problems arise in the household. Teacher finds someone to blame when things go out of control in the class room. Management and unions blame each other. Political parties use blame in the extreme, and it is disruptive, subordinating national goals under political aims. Spouses unfortunately play the blame game to the destruction of marriages and families. Experts in many realms teach that making things better should be the focus of our energies. The barrier to this is blame.
Blame is the process of assigning responsibility for an event on another. Various emotions drive the blame, and it results in loss of face, embarrassment, fear and anger. It is unpleasant for all parties concerned. The language of blame and problem solving is distinctively different, and a study of real life situations could be constructive for managers hoping to rise above the cauldron of anger and blame. A manager may assign responsibility for a task without assigning blame. And you can hold someone accountable for results without blaming. The distinction is in the language and tone of the message. Robert Bacal, consultant from Casselman, Ontario gives some helpful scenarios:
Blame - ‘If you had done your work on time, we wouldn’t be in this mess.’
Factual statement - ‘Your responsibility is to fulfill your work commitments on time. When your work wasn’t available, I had to speak to the boss without the information I needed.’
The factual statement is the prelude to problem solving. The blame statement is bound to cause sparks to fly. Problem solving is focused on the present and the future. The goal is fixing a present problem and seeking to prevent it in the future.
Problem solving lacks the emotions of blaming, and it is less personal and more systems oriented. The problem solving process needs an understanding of the past and an understanding of the root causes of issues. It may include:
Clarifying the problem, goal or purpose
Collecting data, gain understanding
Diagnose, identify sources of problem
Formulate hypotheses for cause
Formulate a strategy for solution
Evaluate, collect more data
Note that assigning of blame is not part of the process. Neither is there room for emotional upheavals. Solving problems requires the use of a process, much of which was created by Deming. TQM, the quality system of modern companies, provides the structure and knowledge on how to solve problems the efficient way. Whether you are pursuing continuous improvement, organizational reinforcement, or improving performance on various levels, the issue of blame vs. problem solving is critical.
When problems occur, such as lack of performance, failure to meet commitments, etc, and you need to intervene, use problem solving. Begin by trying to understand the problem and underlying issues with the employee. Poor performance can be the result of boredom, stress, limited skills or knowledge, or other systems issues such as equipment or authority. Working with the employee to attack the root problem will help avoid it in the future. The focus is on the future. Additional scenarios by Robert Bacal:
Blame
Mgr: John, you should have let me know this work would not be ready for the meeting. We all looked stupid in front of the boss, and it’s going to take us time to recover.
John: I tried to tell you, but you were on vacation. And I forgot. You are very hard to get a hold of, you know.
Mgr: You could have called me at home.
John: I didn’t want to bother you. You said I shouldn’t call you unless it was absolutely urgent.
The manager attacks, and the employee defends. This could end up with attacks flying back and forth. The situation is not pleasant. Now look at how it could have gone:
Problem Solving
Mgr: John, I expected to have information from you prior to the teleconference. We need to figure out what happened and how to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Was I not clear on the date, or was there some other thing that caused us to miss the deadline?
John: Well, I might have misunderstood about the urgency, and when you went on vacation, I didn’t want to bother you at home.
Mgr: OK, well, how does this sound. If I need something on an urgent basis, I’ll make sure that I tell you in the future. I can also let people know when it is OK to call me at home, so it will be easier. I am also going to ask you to please keep me informed, though on projects like this we won’t be embarrassed again. Does this make sense?
John: Yes, and I have more input that may be useful….
You can feel the difference in the dialogues. The problem solving dialogue is neutral aimed at finding where the problem lies and works to prevent reoccurrence. Of course, it may not go this smoothly, and it is oversimplified.
Modeling problem solving in everything you do, staff meetings and other gatherings, is an excellent habit to form. When in a conference, and blame raises its ugly head, redirect with ‘what can we do, then, in the future?’ Seek a problem solving attitude when blame is assigned during a meeting. When you start doing this you begin to create a blameless culture, a responsible culture that discourages empty complaints that will put you in the middle of other people’s disputes.
Moving from blame to problem solving is a tough road because many people will not discern the difference. For some, being responsible also means to be at fault. When blame raises its head, return to the problem, ask diagnostic questions, begin to find root causes, and avoid being drawn into the blame game. In time, some people will begin to see the difference and trust that you are not blaming but attempting to fix the problem.
Tags: Blame Game, Casselman Ontario, Cauldron, Effective Leadership, Embarrassment, Factual Statement, Guilty Parties, Life Situations, Many Realms, Marriages And Families, National Goals, Organization Work, Political Parties, Prelude, Robert Bacal, Room Management, Scenarios, Siblings, Sparks, Work Commitments
Posted in Business | No Comments »
May 10th, 2009

Mark Akerley asked:
It’s no surprise to business leaders that solving problems is a huge part of business success. Some business leaders thrive on managing problems, others don’t. But what makes some leaders so much more successful at it than others? Is it the techniques they adopt, the advisors they hire, or maybe the staff they deploy? In reality it’s a combination of all these factors, with a heavy emphasis on focus. The ability to focus on problems for what they are - nothing more, nothing less - just issues that require objective and realistic thinking and action to be solved. Here are ten tips for solving problems that many business leaders use regularly:
1. BELIEVE THAT - “The problem is the process, not the people” - 85% of service, quality, and productivity problems are directly related to the design and management of a business process. Problem solvers know this and look to change the process before asking individuals to change or improve.
2. LISTEN - to the people who work for you, with you, and even against you. Successful problem solvers know there are multiple perspectives to issues and problems. They endeavor to listen and understand them all and then take the best and leave the rest.
3. EMPLOY THE 80 / 20 RULE - This rule is as true for solving problems as it is for making sales, i.e. “20% of your sales efforts produce 80% of your sales.” The busy business leader is always asking “what’s really important here, and where should I be spending my time to solve this problem?”
4. USE DATA - Business leaders are keenly aware of the power of opinions and anecdotal information. They stay clear of such, and endeavor to support every suggestion or recommendation with the best quantitative data available. They know that good decisions are based on good information.
5. GENERATE IDEAS THROUGH OTHERS - Business leaders revel in getting the best out of the people they work with. They know that great ideas can come from those who actually perform your work as well as vendors and trusted advisors. Problem solvers are always looking for multiple solutions to problems and opportunities.
6. UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMERS - enough said!
7. PLAN and
8. EXECUTE- These two go hand-in-hand, particularly so for complex problems. Solving problems requires good discipline coupled with good methodology. Although not rocket science, solving complex problems does require a certain amount of management science, which is simply the deployment of a common sense problem solving sequence - e.g. 1-define the problem, 2- analyze the problem, 3-develop alternatives, 4- select and plan a solution, 5- implement the solution, 6-evaluate and adjust. Of course there are times when problem solving requires making a decision based on your gut instincts. And when that’s the case by all means do so. But don’t fool yourself either - when possible, use an objective problem solving process.
9. FOCUS ON RESULTS - Successful problem solvers quickly distinguish symptoms from problems and don’t get hung up on opinions vs. facts or style vs. substance. They search for root causes to problems and drive for comprehensive results that will solve problems both short and long term.
10. UNDERSTAND CHANGE - Successful business leaders understand that in order to solve most problems, someone, somewhere, somehow - has to change - maybe a little, maybe a lot - but change. The implications of this simple fact are significant since you know that change, for most people, is difficult. Therefore executing a solution will require helping people get through the change - and you must be prepared to provide that help.
This list of tips is certainly not complete. However, using just a few tips at the right time and the right place, will improve your problem solving ability significantly.
Tags: Business Leader, Business Leaders, Business Process, Business Success, Decisions, Focus, People, Perspectives, Problem Solvers, Problem Solving, Productivity Problems, Quantitative Data, Sales Efforts, Service Quality, Solving Problems, Spending My Time, Suggestion, Surprise
Posted in Leadership | No Comments »
May 9th, 2009

Barbara Brown, PhD asked:
How good are your employees at finding ways to streamline processes, increase sales, or reduce complaints? Hopefully great, because these represent everyday workplace problems. To solve them, employees must know how to do things like determine root causes of problems, develop contingency plans, and track the impact of solutions.
Unfortunately, employees do not always know or possess all the critical skills required to effectively solve problems. The end result is they do a poor job of developing and implementing solutions. You can enhance the problem-solving capabilities of your employees by doing two things. First, identify which skills contribute to effective solutions. Second, and most importantly, identify how those skills will help your organization and the employee.
Below are five critical problem-solving skills and ways you can explain the importance of each:
1. “You said that you want to learn more about the kind of projects other people in the organization are involved in (how desired problem-solving behavior will impact the individual). You can do that if you take the time to investigate how this problem impacts other stakeholders in our organization (your desired problem-solving behavior).”
2. “Let’s look at all the viable options before settling on a solution (your desired problem-solving behavior). That way, we will have several possibilities for solving the problem (how desired problem-solving behavior will impact the organization).”
3. “If you take the time to identify the pros and cons of solving problems (your desired problem-solving behavior), you might be able to develop solutions more quickly (how desired problem-solving behavior will impact the individual).”
4. “If we want to be successful, we have to make sure that our solutions offer a long-term rather than a short-term fix (how desired problem-solving behavior will impact the organization). We can do that by taking the time to determine the root causes of our problems (your desired problem-solving behavior).
5. “The fact that you always develop a step-by-step action plan when solving problems (your desired problem-solving behavior) means that you don’t overlook any critical steps (how desired problem-solving behavior will impact the organization). This approach also helps you solve problems more quickly (how desired problem-solving behavior will impact the individual).”
When you use this approach to talk to employees about solving problems, you don’t just tell them to improve, you give them some suggestions on “how” to improve. This increases the likelihood that you will get the behavior you want. It might also stimulate your employee(s) to think of some additional positive behaviors as well.
Tags: Capabilities, Contingency Plans, Critical Problem, Critical Skills, Effective Solutions, End Result, Organization Behavior, Performance Improvement, Poor Job, Possibilities, Problem Solving Skills, Pros And Cons, Root Causes, Solving Problems, Stakeholders, Viable Options, Workplace Problems
Posted in Management | No Comments »
May 9th, 2009

Albert Alexander asked:
How many times have you caught yourself saying that there could be no other solution to a problem and that problem leads to a dead end? How many times have you felt stumped knowing that the problem laying before you is one you cannot solve. No leads. No options. No solutions.
Did it feel like you had exhausted all possible options and yet are still before the mountain, large, unconquerable, and impregnable? When encountering such enormous problems, you may feel like you’re hammering against a steel mountain. The pressure of having to solve such a problem may be overwhelming.
But rejoice! There might be some hope yet!
With some creative problem-solving techniques you may be able to look at your problem in a different light. And that light might just be the end of the tunnel that leads to possible solutions.
First of all, in the light of creative problem-solving, you must be open-minded to the fact that there may be more than just one solution to the problem. And, you must be open to the fact that there may be solutions to problems you thought were unsolvable.
Now, with this optimistic mindset, we can try to be a little bit more creative in solving our problems.
Number one; maybe the reason we cannot solve our problems is that we have not really taken a hard look at what the problem is. Here, trying to understanding the problem and having a concrete understanding of its workings is integral solving the problem. If you know how it works, what the problem is, then you have a better foundation towards solving the problem.
Not trying to make the simple statement of what problem is. Try to identify the participating entities and what their relationships with one another are. Take note of the things you stand to gain any stand to lose from the current problem. Now you have a simple statement of what the problem is.
Number two; try to take note of all of the constraints and assumptions you have the words of problem. Sometimes it is these assumptions that obstruct our view of possible solutions. You have to identify which assumptions are valid, in which assumptions need to be addressed.
Number three; try to solve the problem by parts. Solve it going from general view towards the more detailed parts of the problem. This is called the top-down approach. Write down the question, and then come up with a one-sentence solution to that from them. The solution should be a general statement of what will solve the problem. From here you can develop the solution further, and increase its complexity little by little.
Number four; although it helps to have critical thinking aboard as you solve a problem, you must also keep a creative, analytical voice at the back of your head. When someone comes up with a prospective solution, tried to think how you could make that solution work. Try to be creative. At the same time, look for chinks in the armor of that solution.
Number five; it pays to remember that there may be more than just one solution being developed at one time. Try to keep track of all the solutions and their developments. Remember, there may be more than just one solution to the problem.
Number six; remember that old adage,” two heads are better than one.” That one is truer than it sounds. Always be open to new ideas. You can only benefit from listening to all the ideas each person has. This is especially true when the person you’re talking to has had experience solving problems similar to yours.
You don’t have to be a gung-ho, solo hero to solve the problem. If you can organize collective thought on the subject, it would be much better.
Number seven; be patient. As long as you persevere, there is always a chance that a solution will present itself. Remember that no one was able to create an invention the first time around.
Creative thinking exercises can also help you in your quest be a more creative problems solver.
Here is one example.
Take a piece of paper and write any word that comes to mind at the center. Now look at that word then write the first two words that come to your mind. This can go on until you can build a tree of related words. This helps you build analogical skills, and fortify your creative processes.
So, next time you see a problem you think you can not solve, think again. The solution might just be staring you right in the face. All it takes is just a little creative thinking, some planning, and a whole lot of work.
Tags: Assumptions, Constraints, Creative Mind, Creative Problem Solving Techniques, Different Light, Enormous Problems, Entities, Leads, Little Bit, Mindset, Possible Solutions, Problem Solving Techniques, Reason, Relationships, Steel Mountain, Tap
Posted in Self Improvement | No Comments »