Thanks again to David Friedman for sharing such an important fundamental:
PRACTICE BLAMELESS PROBLEM-SOLVING. Apply your creativity, spirit, and enthusiasm to developing solutions, rather than pointing fingers and dwelling on problems. Identify lessons learned and use those lessons to improve our processes so we don’t make the same mistake again. Learn from every experience.
Sam C: I have always found that the “who is to blame for a problem” has always been the least important equation in the “How do we solve the problem”. Taking time to assign blame is a waste of effort and only prolongs the problem-solving process. Accidents happen, and sometimes good ideas don’t pan out. Worrying about who is to blame only takes time away from finding a solution. If we spend more time focusing on creating a better process that will allow us to achieve greater success in the future than we can turn a negative into a positive. I have never met a successful person who has not overcome failure in one form or another but on the flip side, I know even fewer successful ones that consistently dwell it. We have a limited time in this life so spend it moving forward.
Jim S: As the statement implies, it takes more than 1 to point a finger of blame. I have learned that when 2 or more folks become involved in finding a solution you have to start with the fact that each person sees a problem differently, envisions their own fix for the problem and then take different steps to resolve the problem. The seeing a problem, determining how to fix the problem and actually fixing it should begin with quality listening, asking clarifying questions and confirming a common understanding. If you can’t start with good listening and communicating, then finger pointing will be the result.
Kevin P: I always believed that no one is perfect and that mistakes will be made. It is how you fix the mistake, and what you learn from it that is important.
Alex B: I believe it is best to focus on fixing the problem and not “shaming” the person.
Nobody likes finger pointing when there is a problem.
Reading responses like those above are quite humbling to me. It is encouraging that we have individuals with this much depth to them. A special thanks to our team for their participation. We believe it is a privilege to learn something new each day. For more information, contact OCP here.