How to remove obstacles and get results

Look for a reason, not a symptom

Usually people approach the fulfillment of tasksrandomly. They react to crises, but do not foresee them. Therefore, when problems are detected, they have to look for solutions as soon as possible. Figuratively speaking, a person plugging a hole in the dam with a finger and hopes that the waves will not wash it whole. If such a person is good at handling a hammer, then any problem will seem to him a nail. He will beat and beat on it, not noticing that this increases the level of his stress and frustration.

Similar surface solutions, of course,is not enough. It is necessary to fight not with the obvious symptoms of the disease, but seek its cause. So you do not just solve the problem - you minimize your efforts, but at the same time maximize the result.

Focus on the primary goal

It is impossible to determine exactly what obstacles are on your way to the goal, if you do not know the very purpose. When a person is not sure what he wants to achieve, any changes will be random.

Ask yourself the question: "How to understand that it's done?" For example, let's imagine that your goal is to compile a 15-page draft of the report, attach it to the letter and send it to the client before 2 pm on Thursday. Now you have a specific task, and not a general idea that something needs to be done.

Identify the weakest link

Instead of immediately embarking on a project,take yourself a few minutes to think. Ask yourself: "What obstacles can meet in my path?" What can stop me from completing my work? "Make a list for them. Perhaps you do not have enough information, or you are too tired, or strive to do everything perfectly. Look at the list and ask yourself the question: "Is it possible to remove any of these obstacles so that all others disappear with it?"

Calculating the weakest link in the process, it is necessaryremember that even those activities that seem productive to you (conducting research, interviewing employees, rewriting a report to correct errors) can actually prove to be obstacles. Do not forget: your goal is to finish the draft report. All that is on the way to it, must be questioned.

Very often, the goal is preventedseveral obstacles. However, at a certain point in time only one of them will be the main one. The removal of side obstacles will not do you good, if the main one is still in force. If your task is to write 15 pages of the report, then even hiring a person who will conduct all the research work for you, you will not get close to doing it.

Get Rid of the Obstacle

Suppose that your main trouble -perfectionism. You are trying to make your report perfect, and you have dozens of ideas on how to achieve it. But in this case, your task is to draft a draft. To get rid of the obstacle, replace the installation "ideally or in no way" with another - "it is better to do than not to do". Allow yourself not to bring the draft to perfection. Getting rid of the main problem, you will feel that other aspects of the work are given to you much easier.

The weakest link may be another person: a chief who does not give the project a green light, an accountant who does not approve the budget, a client refusing to sign a contract. To eliminate friction between you and other people, follow the old English saying: honey flies more flies than vinegar. Assign a meeting with your "weakest link" and do not be interested in him, did he fulfill the task assigned to him (and so obviously, no). Ask him a question: "What prevents you from doing this and that? How can I help you eliminate these obstacles? "Instead of reprimanding a careless employee, offer him help. This kind of politeness will be more readily answered by a person than by another demand.

Example from literature

Sometimes it is enough to detect and eliminate everythingone problem in order to achieve a significant result. And here is an example from The Goal. A businessman named Alex Rogo goes on a hike with his son and his friends. As leader of the group, he is obliged to bring all the boys to the camp before sunset.

But some of Alex's wards are stepping tooquickly, others, on the contrary, slowly. One boy named Herbie is far behind. The chain of children stretched out, and between the fastest of the detachment and Herbie are already several kilometers of the way. First, Alex demands that the front of the group stop and wait for the rest. Some time the children stay together, but as soon as the movement resumes, the detachment again stretches.

Then Alex decides to try another way. He puts Herby in the head of the detachment and builds the boys on the speed of walking: first the slowest, and behind them the fastest. It seems strange that those who can go faster than everyone are forced to trail behind. But now the detachment is moving as a single group. Each scout easily keeps up with the one in front of him, and Alex looks after all at once, and all the boys will arrive at the camp on time. The only downside is that now the detachment is moving at the speed of Herbie. How to be?

Alex understands that it is necessary to do everything toto facilitate Herby's way to the camp. If he moves at least a couple of meters per hour faster, then the entire detachment will accelerate. This thought seems to Alex to be a real inspiration. He takes a backpack from Herby with supplies and distributes them among the other scouts in the squad. It works, the group speeds up, and the boys get to their destination on time.

And here is the question for you: is there such a "Herbie" in your personal or professional life? Is there any obstacle that prevents achievement of the set goals? The systematic identification and elimination of such "limitations" will help you to succeed without unnecessary effort.