John Adair

Do you know what you are trying to achieve?

Remember the distinction between available and relevant information

Some thinkers do not, however, look at the information at their disposal and ask themselves, ‘Is this relevant?’ Instead they wonder, ‘How can I use it?’ They are confusing two kinds of information – as is illustrated on

Understanding the problem

When did you first sense or become aware of the problem or the need for a decision?
Have you defined the problem or objective in your own words? (Remember that a problem properly defined is a problem half-solved.)
Are there any other possible definitions of the problem worth considering? What general solutions do they suggest?
Are you clear about what you are trying to do? Where are you now and where do you want to get to?
Have you identified the important factors and salient facts? Do you need to spend more time on obtaining more information? Do you know the relevant policies, rules, limitations, and procedures?
Have you reduced the problem to its simplest terms without oversimplifying it?

owards solving the problem

Have you checked all your main assumptions?
Out of all the possible courses or solutions, have you identified a shortlist of the feasible ones?
Can you eliminate some of these in order to shorten the list still further?
If no solution or course of action seems right by itself, can you synthesise elements in two or more solutions to create an effective way of dealing with the problem?
Have you clearly identified the criteria by which the feasible options must be judged?
If you are still stuck, can you imagine yourself in the end-state where you want to be? If so, can you work backwards from there to where you are now?
Has anyone else faced this problem? How did they solve it?

Evaluating the decision and implementing it

Have you used all the available information?
Have you checked your solution from all angles?
Are you clear about the manifest consequences?
Have you an implementation plan with dates or times for completion?
Is the plan realistic?
Do you have a contingency plan if things do not work out as expected?
When are you and your team planning to review the decision in the light of experience?

Action based on truth is much more likely to be effective than action based on a faulty perception of reality

The greater the difference between the normal performance (how the system is supposed to work) and the active performance (what is actually happening), the bigger the problem

The main strategy in systems problems is to find the point of deviation and then establish what caused it. The first aim is to establish the exact time and place of that critical deviation. What happened? When? How much? Who was affected? Who saw it? And so on