Here's how you can apply logical reasoning to solve problems at work.

When I approach a problem, I do not think we should find the problem and stop there. I have found the best practice is to find the contributing factors. I will usually find the person most impacted by the problem, then start probing with questions like: - what is issue costing us? - when have we started seeing this problem? - who is being impacted the most? - what external conditions in the market have contributed to this? These questions help me find the problem area of the business and dive way deeper. I use this daily when approaching a multitude of project!

As Einstein suggested, "If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions”. This is because one's definition of a problem has implications for how one then seeks to respond to a particular issue and the options available to respond. Indeed, there are multiple ways most problems can be considered. For example, homelessness is a multi-causal problem, that can be viewed from the perspective of different causes such mental illness, domestic violence, housing affordability, drug and alcohol addiction etc, all of which necessitate different types of interventions to respond to/solve the problem. Clearly defining an issue or problem is therefore critical to solving it.

One time at work, I had heard of a problem with buying vehicles that take too much repair and slow up our turnaround. I knew there was an issue and started collecting data. I pulled old records for repair costs for different years, makes, and models or cars. I found the correlations for indicators that had the best relationship for faster turn around times. i also interviewed the experts (aka the mechanics) to find their opinions and lean on their experience for what they were most comfortable working with. This has lead to us having more inventory ready to go!

I find that the most important part of problem solving is researching the solution options. This process forces me to figure out what the business REALLY needs and what is within our means to implement. The contact with solution providers also shows additional benefits that may address other issues you have as well. When deciding, budget, features, and ease of use are my top factors. The price and features are obvious upon a little research, but i find making sure things integrate with our systems seamlessly provides the best benefit and take the least amount of time to get going!

Start by clearly defining the problem and make sure you understand its scope & implications. Gather relevant information & data to establish context & identify potential causes. Break the problem into smaller, more manageable parts and analyze each component. Use logical frameworks such as cause & effect analysis or the five whys method to identify root causes. Create multiple solutions & evaluate each based on feasibility, risks, & potential outcomes. Choose the best solution and create a detailed implementation plan. Be prepared to monitor the results and adjust your approach if necessary. Through the entire process, we will manipulate clear communication with stakeholders and document inference to ensure transparency and accountability.