Diagnosing Problems to Avoid “Ready, Fire, Aim” Syndrome

Contents
Three Points to Remember
Potential Obstacles
The Problem Analysis Tool
     Step 1. State the problem as you see it now
     Step 2. Describe why this is a problem
     Step 3. Describe the causes and consequences of the problem
     Step 4. Describe who is involved
     Step 5. Identify information that you are missing
     Step 6. Define the problem in one sentence
     Step 7. Define the problem in manageable terms
Where to Learn More

From Becky Andrews, Marketing Manager, Fieldstone Alliance:

WHETHER IN A board meeting or at a community problem solving session, it's sometimes hard to get the ball rolling on an issue because no one agrees on what the problem is. Hours can be wasted spinning on issues without coming to resolution. This Tools You Can Use provides a step-by-step process for defining a problem in such a way that people can do something about it.

The process is adapted from pages 34-41 of The Community Leadership Handbook by Jim Krile. This book is chock-full of tools that any leader—whether in a community, at an organization, or on a project team—will find useful for "framing ideas, building relationships, and mobilizing resources."

Three Points to Remember
To get the most benefit from this tool, keep these points in mind:

The way a problem is defined determines the type of solutions that will be developed. For example, if a teen drug problem is defined in terms of a lack of positive role models at home, solutions will focus on family life. If the problem is defined in terms of kids having too much time on their hands, solutions will focus on providing youth activities. If the problem is seen as a matter of a lack of law enforcement, solutions will focus on increasing police presence.

Problems usually have more than one cause. For example, lack of positive role models, teenagers with too much free time, and limited law enforcement may all contribute to the drug problem.

The process of analyzing problems runs against the tendency to think of solutions first. This tendency runs strong in many, though not all, cultural groups. For many people, the habit of implementing solutions before understanding a problem is so ingrained that it becomes invisible.

Potential Obstacles
When leaders forget the above three points, they often run into the following obstacles.

Equating problems and solutions
When a person says, “I need a drink of water” rather than “I'm thirsty” she has described a problem (thirst) in terms of a solution (water). But water is only one way of handling the problem of thirst. Lemonade, soda, and iced tea can all be solutions to the problem of thirst.

Thinking in terms of solutions at the outset often prevents you from identifying multiple causes of a problem. It also tends to limit creative thinking about alternate ways to solve a problem.

Rushing to action
When your car develops a strange noise and you take it to a mechanic, you want him to just listen to the engine first and maybe ask a few questions. If he just opened the hood and started taking the engine apart, you’d be more than just a little upset.

Yet this often happens in groups. People want to take action before making a diagnosis: Let’s just do something, and if it doesn’t work, we’ll try something else.

A trial-and-error approach might work if you have abundant resources of time, energy, money, and interest. But people who do problem analysis find that time invested in carefully defining an issue pays off in time saved when people do take action. This tool prevents the “ready, fire, aim” syndrome that cripples many efforts.

The Problem Analysis Tool
The steps in this tool are rigorous but fairly simple. They require following a certain logic. They call on us to look at information that we might otherwise ignore.

Step 1. State the problem as you see it now
Start by asking your group, “What is the problem as you see it now?” This question gives people a chance to get their definition on the table and have it acknowledged.

To have an effective discussion

Alert the group to the drawbacks of thinking in terms of solutions at this stage. You can explain this idea using the above example about being thirsty versus needing water.
Ask each group member to write down their definition of the problem.
Next, ask each person to share their definition. Record the comments on a flip chart.
Remind group members to listen without comment as each person speaks.
After all definitions are recorded, let group members ask questions for clarification or offer additional information. At this point, the group does not need to reach agreement.

Step 2. Describe why this is a problem
Now ask the group, “Why is this a problem?” In other words, how does this situation keep us from reaching our goals?

Situations are seen as problems because they are not the way we think or feel things should be. A problem is a discrepancy between what we want and what we have. This step taps the values and expectations of those who are affected by the problem.

Use the same process for this step that you used in Step 1 (see the bulleted list above). Again, the group does not need to agree on why the situation is a problem.

Step 3. Describe the causes and consequences of the problem
Next, ask, “What are the causes and consequences of the problem?” This helps the group get a sense of the problem’s complexity.

Conversation during this step can help your group rank causes in order of importance. Focus on those that you can actually tackle and look for strategies that address more than one cause. Discussion about consequences can also take responses to the “why” question in Step 2 and make them more specific. This in turn creates motivation to identify key stakeholders and select solutions that deal with more than one consequence.

To facilitate this discussion, use a causes and consequences template like the example below. Write the template on a flip chart and record group members’ ideas in the appropriate columns. Give participants a minute or two to think about their responses. It isn’t necessary for each person to respond in turn, as in Steps 1 and 2. Just make sure everybody contributes.

You may find that the process goes faster if you deal with one column at a time, listing all the causes the group can identify and then all the consequences. If someone isn’t sure whether an item is a cause or a consequence, ask group members to quickly decide. If they can’t, list it in both columns and move on.

Causes and Consequences Sample: Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force
Cause	Consequence
Drugs are readily available	Kids failing in school
People make good money selling drugs	Increased violence at home, in school, and on the street Property values dropping Law enforcement costs rising
Drugs make you “feel good”	Individuals jeopardize their own health

Step 4. Describe who is involved
Now ask the group, “Who is involved?” More specifically

Who is affected by the problem and how are they affected?
Who gains from the situation the way it is now?
Who loses?
Who actually sees this as a problem?
Who is doing something about the problem and what are they doing?

Record the group’s input using the template below. Or, hang five sheets of flip-chart paper side-by-side and label them. You may find it more productive to have the group work on questions A through C as a set first and then do D and E as a set. While these questions can be answered in an open discussion, make sure everyone gives their answers to all five questions.

Encourage participants to make their responses as specific as possible. Some may find it difficult to list responses for column B. Ask them to keep thinking, reminding them that any situation persists precisely because someone benefits from it.

Who Is Involved in the Problem
A	B	C	D	E
Who is affected and how?	Who gains from the current situation?	Who loses?	Who sees it as a problem?	Who is doing something about it and what are they doing?

This step begins the process of analyzing stakeholders. Stakeholders are people who gain from the current situation as well as those who lose from it. At this time you can lay the groundwork for developing action strategies that take key stakeholders into account.

Step 5. Identify information that you are missing
Now ask, “What other information do we need?” This step challenges group members to identify gaps in their knowledge, including evidence they need to support their answers to the questions in the previous step.

After some discussion, your group may decide that it is missing crucial information. One possible solution is to add more members who can supply the missing data or experience.

Before moving on to the next step, revisit Steps 2 through 4. Check to see how the new information or new group members modify existing statements or add new ones.

Step 6. Define the problem in one sentence
Many problems are complex. However, if your group cannot briefly state the essence of the problem—or some dimension of the problem—then it will not be able to take effective action. Taking action without a clear definition puts groups at risk for fragmenting their activities and scattering their energy.

To avoid such results, state the problem in one sentence. The drug task force, for example, might use one of the following sentences to define its problem:

Teenagers in our community can easily access alcohol if they want it.
Teenagers in our community engage in binge drinking.
Too many teenagers in our community are addicted to cigarettes by the time they graduate from high school.

During this step, remember the difference between describing a problem and defining it. Describing is what takes place in Steps 2 through 5. Defining means focusing on some aspect of that situation that you can and will take meaningful action to change.

If your group is small (four to six members), ask group members to write out their one-sentence definitions and share them. Also ask people to state why they defined the problem in the way that they did. This may require you to review the definition of a problem and the distinction between problems and solutions. Finally, help your group pull together the common elements in the individual statements. Negotiate until you “nail it” in one simple, declarative sentence.

If the group is larger than six people, have group members share their individual statements in teams of two or three people. Then ask each team to produce a problem statement and share it with the entire group, explaining why they defined the problem that way. Finally, negotiate to arrive at one single-sentence definition.

Step 7. Define the problem in manageable terms
This step is a reality check. It’s now time to ask, “Have we defined the problem in manageable terms?” And, “Why do we think so?”

Caution: If you try to include everything that everybody says into your one-sentence definition of the problem, you’ll probably end up with something that’s vague or overwhelming.

Consider this one-sentence definition of a community drug problem:

Media promotes a culture that glorifies drug use as a symbol of social status, an instant solution to problems, and a sure-fire way to deal with unpleasant feelings.

This problem definition meets one criterion: It consists of a single sentence. However, it points to more issues than any community group could tackle, let alone agree on: the state of the media, sweeping trends in our nation’s culture, and longstanding attitudes toward drugs.

This definition states the problem in manageable terms.

Teenagers in our community can easily access alcohol if they want it.

The purpose of this step is to make sure that your group focuses on areas where it really can make an impact. You want to know that your efforts make a difference—preferably one that you can measure.

Where to Learn More
Once your group concludes that it has defined the problem in manageable terms, you can move forward to develop outcomes, set priorities, write goals, and develop action plans that lead to solutions. To this end, The Community Leadership Handbook includes Tool 5: Visioning and Tool 6: Translating Vision to Action. (You can see the book's entire list of tools on our web site).

Community Economic Development Handbook: Strategies and Tools to Revitalize Your Neighborhood by Mihailo (Mike) Temali. Published by Fieldstone Alliance.

Community Tool Box: Chapter 17. Analyzing Community Problems and Solutions. Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development, University of Kansas.

Three Keys to Being an Effective Community Leader, past issue of Tools You Can Use.

All the Best and Happy New Year!

Becky Andrews
Fieldstone Alliance

January 9, 2008