MANAGEMENT • 4 MIN READ

How to Become Great at Business Problem Solving

Are You Stuck Working “IN” Your Business?

Are problems in your business giving you a headache? Don’t sweat it! With the right approach, even the most complex issues can be solved in no time. In fact, did you know that companies who effectively solve business problems have a significant increase in productivity by up to 40%?

That’s like finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow! But where do you start?

This guide will provide you with a step-by-step process for effective business problem solving, complete with real-life examples and a dash of humor to keep you motivated. So grab a cup of coffee and let’s get solving!

What Do We Mean by Business Problem Solving?

An effective business problem solving process minimizes or eliminates obstacles currently preventing you from reaching strategic goals. A gap between actual results and desired results is usually caused by complex issues. Most of these problems are not immediately or obvious to solve, but may be present in just a single team or operation.

Problem solving in business requires consistent processes, which enable evaluation, exploration, execution, and success measurement.

A monthly plan review is a good way to evaluate business performance. Without this process, you simply cannot expect to solve problems effectively and efficiently. You work through the same documentation, look for gaps, dig deeper to find the root cause, and hash out options.

Why Problem Solving in Business is Important

The ability to solve problems is a skill you can develop and refine over time. By learning problem-solving skills, you’ll be able to address critical issues and resolve conflicts as they arise.

Business owners and CEOs must demonstrate the same kind of problem-solving that employees do. Keeping a level head will enable you to quickly resolve issues, develop a process for problem solving, turn challenges into opportunities, and generally keep a positive attitude.

Rather than finding a magic solution, successful business leaders built processes and leveraged tools. And you can too.

Best Way to Solve Business Problems

Organizational performance reviews should inform problem solving techniques in business. Without such a process, it’s impossible to find root causes, work through documents, meet KPIs or discuss solutions.

A successful business problem solving strategy can be created by following these steps.

1. Identify the problem

You may be able to quickly come up with a solution to a problem, but if you don’t examine the underlying causes, you may only be treating the symptoms.

Suppose you realize that you are losing customers, so your first inclination might be to create a marketing plan to increase exposure. But what if it is really a symptom of an underlying issue?

Make sure you understand the problem clearly and look at it from several perspectives if it’s a large issue. To identify the problem, you should consider the following factors:

The competition: Find out what competitors are doing to market and promote their business and products. This may be what is causing your sales issues.
Your business model: Check your cost and pricing strategies and establish a realistic growth plan.
The market: Gain insight into how your company’s sales and customers are being affected by world events and the economy.
The team: Give your team the necessary tools and resources to succeed. Investigate issues that affect their productivity.

2. Identify a number of possible solutions

Seeing issues from different perspectives leads to multiple possible solutions, so design thinking is a widely used problem-solving strategy. Business should involve a wide range of people in order to achieve this.

For instance, a design project may involve a range of people from different backgrounds, including engineers, user experience designers, marketers, and business analysts.

3. Conduct a SWOT analysis

SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. Opportunities and threats are external factors. A SWOT analysis is used to evaluate the internal and external factors that affect a company.

You should conduct a SWOT analysis to determine if your particular business problem is in fact an opportunity, or even a strength, if you examine it from a different perspective. You can use SWOT to strategize and consider multiple viewpoints when planning to invest resources.

This can be a powerful tool to identify your company’s strengths and weaknesses..

4. Gather input from mentors and the team

When conducting analysis, enlisting the support of your mentors and team can enhance your business problem solving agenda by gaining a wide range of valuable ideas and concerns.

When you bring in your team, you can leverage their experience and expertise to get to the bottom of the problem. In addition, you can develop possible solutions using their ideas.

You can gain valuable insight from your mentors and trusted business advisors if you are a solo entrepreneur. When you bring a wide variety of people into solving a business problem, you have a better chance of coming up with effective long-term solutions.

5. Conduct market research and customer outreach

Researching the market and reaching out to customers aren’t things startups or small businesses can do once and then be done with. Consider the last time you did some solid market research or analyzed your competition.

Research and customer outreach don’t guarantee success. With conflicting data points, many companies struggle to figure out how to proceed. But it’s worth putting your energy into gathering information that will help you better understand your target market.

It’s also a worthwhile idea to survey your customers. When you’re facing challenges, you shouldn’t isolate yourself from your customers or ignore your competition. The most damaging thing you can do is isolate yourself from your customers and ignore your competitors.

6. Make a decision

It is critical to decide on the right course of action as soon as possible to avoid further losses when solving a business problem. If you have feasible, reliable solutions, it is imperative to implement them immediately by choosing a solution and sticking to it. For example, in the case of a company facing a financial crisis, it is important to decide quickly on a course of action such as cost cutting or renegotiating contracts with suppliers, rather than waiting and hoping the situation will improve on its own.

7. Track progress

By keeping track of the implemented solution, you will know if you have successfully solved a problem. If you want to track progress, you can define what successful business problem solving looks like and determine how the solution should impact your business.

Track progress by asking these questions:

Was it successful?
Would you recommend it?
Is there anything we learned from implementing the solution that we can apply to other potential problems in the future?

If you constantly set and hit milestones, you can tell if a solution is effective. For instance, you can monitor your profit margins after implementing a solution. If you have increasing profits, then the solution has been successful.

Maintaining a close eye on other metrics will ensure that the solution doesn’t cause new problems. If you identify loopholes in your solution, don’t be afraid to go back to the drawing board to perfect it. Problem solving in business is an ongoing process.

2X Will Upgrade Your Business Problem Solving Skills

Want to become a problem-solving ninja in your business and double your profits? Look no further than the 2X accelerator.

In collaboration with 2X’s entire community of entrepreneurs, the team has developed an effective process for tackling even the toughest challenges, which they are ready to share with you. With 2X accelerated training and mentorship, you’ll learn how to identify root causes, prioritize solutions, and implement changes that drive real results.

Additionally, the 2X book From 6 to 7 Figures provides a comprehensive guide to taking your business to the next level. Whether you’re a small business owner or a corporate executive, 2X will help you solve problems, teach you problem solving techniques in business and achieve success like never before.

The Bottom Line

Your business will thrive when you are able to solve business issues effectively and efficiently. By practicing and developing the skills, you become more efficient and effective at solving problems.

If you want to turn your company into a money-making machine, you need to be able to solve problems.

Want to become an expert at company-wide business problem solving? Visit the 2X blog to see how our fellow entrepreneurs are dealing with the everyday stress of running a business, or check out the latest book by the CEO of 2X – From 6 to 7 Figures.