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The Best Time to Solve a Problem
By Nick Radovanovic
Before I begin, I'd like to take a minute explaining that I am not the type to read self-help books or attend motivational seminars. I would much rather read a novel set in 19th century Russia than Rich Dad, Poor Dad. If you speak to highly successful people, none of them have motivational books in their bookshelf, anyway. I've always believed that I alone can come up with the inner strength needed to tackle life's problems and attain my objectives. However, there is one quote from a successful person that has given me a tremendous boost, and vastly improved my ability to juggle my workload. One single sentence turned out to be a gift which I treasure to this day. The quote came from Carlos Ghosn. This is an amazing character who went from most-villified person in Japan to semi-deity, in a matter of months. Back in the late 1990's, when Japan's economy was doing badly (and the rest of the world was still doing well), the French automaker Renault bought a stake in Nissan, which was on the verge of bankruptcy. They sent in Ghosn (pronounced Goan), a Brazilian of Lebanese decent, to run Nissan. Ghosn's instatement as CEO of Nissan was a major cultural shock in Japan. People were used to the idea of Japanese companies buying up businesses all over the world, but to have a foreign company buy up a major domestic automaker and put a Caucasian in charge to run it was a like a bomb exploding in the middle of Tokyo. The name Nissan happens to mean, Japan Made. A foreigner could not possibly understand the uniquely Japanese way of doing business, or the finer points of Japanese culture that had allowed Japan to be what it was. Ghosn did not disappoint his detractors. He closed factories and laid off thousands - something no Japanese CEO would have dared to do. Ghosn was everyone's worst nightmare. He was the devil incarnate. To image the degree to which people hated him, bring to mind the way liberals in the US felt about George W Bush. But a scant one or two years later, Nissan was raking in record profits. Nissan cars were hot again and selling like hotcakes. New factories were being built. Almost overnight, Ghosn became one of the most respected persons in the country. People literally genuflected before him. He became, and still is, something of a deity. Japanese reporters interviewing him used a reverent tone normally reserved for the imperial family. Of course, foreign reporters from news organizations such as the BBC would have none of this. They asked hard questions. I remember an interview Ghosn gave just as Nissan was starting to emerge from its darkest days. Someone asked him why he hadn't negotiated further with the unions (or something like that). Ghosn said, "The best time to solve a problem, is now." In other words, a problem may be unpleasant, but the effort required to solve it will only increase with time. Solving the problem now will remove the problem from the list of problems to solve, and free up time and resources for more productive tasks. Therefore, it is expedient, more efficient, and easier to solve the problem as soon as possible. Not later, not tomorrow, but now, as in right this minute. The best time to solve a problem is now. I didn't realize it at the time, but that sentence would change my productivity forever. I gradually started hearing this phrase every time I faced an unpleasant task. Whenever I confront something that needs to be done, I hesitate momentarily. The option of ignoring the problem and carrying on presents itself. It is tempting to pretend the problem doesn't exist, or to just push it back to the queue for handling 'later'. But I then conjure up Ghosn's magic words, like a spell. The best time to solve a problem is now. Right! I then jump right in and start dealing with the problem without any hesitation. Done! I can remove the problem from my to-do list. Ghosn's spell works for domestic chores. Notice something untidy? Pick it up and restore it to its position there and then - otherwise you'll soon have to spend a whole day, or even weekend, cleaning up and setting things straight. I used to have a permanent pile of unwashed dishes. If I needed a particular knife, I'd often need to wash it, dry it, and then use it. Nowadays, I still have a stack of unwashed dishes - I process them in batches - but the stack is much smaller, and I never have unwashed pots or pans or other items that are used frequently. It is such a luxury to be able to have any item available when I need it. It works for business, too. Something not functioning? Fixing it now will allow more time for dealing with ancillary problems brought up during the fixing process. It minimizes revenue lost and frees up time and resources for investing in new capaibilities. A problem usually turns out to be much easier to deal with than anticipated. Unsolved, it hangs over us, like a gloomy cloud, dampening our spirits. But when tackled, it turns out to be not as bad as we thought. By dealing with a problem now, rather than later, we are reducing the time the gloomy cloud can cast a shadow over our life. Like any rule of thumb, the rule has exceptions. If you continue solving problems one after another, you'll never get any sleep. So you have to have a cut-off time for all your problem solving activity. But generally, Ghosn's wisdom holds true for just about any problem. |
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This is great intel, Nick. Solving a problem now has been very helpful for me, too, even when I dread doing it. I struggled with procrastination for a long time until I adopted the Nike slogan, Just do it. (And do it now.)
Nora
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
That's a good one too Madam. It's awesome that there are senior citizen ladies who Just do it.
Sounds like good advice. I've never been much of a procrastinator...It makes me worry to have too many unsolved problems staring me in the face.
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
You are very lucky to have been born without the procrastination gene. 
Thank you for sharing this great intel, Nick.
I've not heard of this phrase, but it certainly should be most useful. Tomorrow never comes,because then it's today.
Best wishes.
Frederick
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Good point! Thank you for taking the time to comment.
This is remarkably good advice. Speaking as one who is fond of procrastinating when faced with an unwelcome task, I will remember this when appropriate.
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
I had never figured you as a procrastinator, judging from your numerous websites and tremendous productivity. Keep up the great work.
I rated this as being excellent. The best time to solve a problem is now! Who can argue with this?
I liked this intel so much, I posted in on my blog.
Here is the link:
Albert Grande's Internet Marketing, Pizza and Rock and Roll.
Great advice, Nick! Thanks.
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Wow!  Thank you so much! I don't think I have ever been republished before. You do me a great honor.
I'd never heard that quote before either, but it's so right-on! I am an accomplished procrastinator, but I know how having a list of problems I need to solve really drains my energy and can add up to feeling overwhelmed, and paralyzed because of it. I think I'm going to write this quote on my wall! Thanks.
NIck. Very well written Intel. I have shared with others!
When I first saw the title of this Intel I thought the answer was within 5 minutes of my wife telling me there was a problem. Good Information.
Love this Intel! It exhorts people to get things handled now, to confront what is there to confront.
I believe problems are created by ourselves for the most part, so I always look to myself first to see what I did to create it - that is, without a deep soul-searching effort if the problem is minor.
There is always a source to a problem. Finding the source as a first or early action leads to the resolution of the problem pretty quickly.
Problems are at times what make life interesting, aren't they? We can choose to be either part of the problem or part of the solution, as a matter of playing the game of Life.
This is awesome intel. This is especially useful for those of us working from home or working on independent projects. At work, we always have a boss and coworkers to keep us in line. Let's face it, we can't just browse the internet all day at work if we "don't feel like working". But at home, it is such an easy thing to fall into. Self discipline is the hardest discipline, trite but true.
"The best time to solve a problem is now." I'm definitely going to use that. Thanks again.
Very much enjoyed reading this highly insightful intel.
Nick, this is a great Intel that gives a great advice behind the great story! I loved it even more than David Allen's GTD (Getting Things Done) system, where he says: do it now if it takes 2 minutes or less, otherwise schedule it for a later time. I think solving the problem right away no matter how long it would take (because you might have overestimated it, right?) is a much more effective strategy. I love your story-telling talent, Nick! Fo.rtitu.de is going to rock under such leadership!
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Why thank you, and thank you for allowing me the opportunity to publish intel on your site. Ever since Qondio went to PR6 it has become an unbelievably powerful source for backlinks. More power!
Yes, Qondio is a great community that you and our reputable long-term members have built together. I am working on promoting and optimizing it since we had joined forces and I believe it would further help people write great Intel and benefit from traffic and backlinks and especially from meeting great like-minded people as we all do here, at Qondio.
'Solving the problem now will remove the problem from the list of problems to solve, and free up time and resources for more productive tasks. Therefore, it is expedient, more efficient, and easier to solve the problem as soon as possible. Not later, not tomorrow, but now, as in right this minute.' - this is like an eye-opener. thank you, nick, for sharing. and i will be following your intels.
 | | Bing Jun 23, 2010 10:45 | |
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This intel was contributed by nick
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