Circle whether you agree, somewhat agree, or disagree with the 20 communications.

1. When considering a problem, I question my assumptions and make sure they have worked in the past on similar problems.

agree    somewhat agree    disagree

2. I seldom question seemingly obvious assumptions

agree    somewhat agree   disagree

3. I sometimes ask others for suggestions and opinions.

agree   somewhat agree   disagree

4. I ask a diverse group of humans for their perspective if they have some expertise or experience with the problem whether they are male or female, from a different department, or different ethnic origin.

agree   somewhat agree   disagree

5. I try to evaluate customer needs as objectively as possible for possible solutions to the problem.

agree    somewhat agree   disagree

6. I do research if possible to gather relevant information if there is considerable uncertainty in the decision which I am about to make.

agree   somewhat agree   disagree

7. I do intimate research on what the customer really needs first and wants second using focal groups, interviews, and customer product feedback.

agree   somewhat agree   disagree

8. I sometimes consider ideas and suggestions that other humans present if I am not desperate to solve a problem even if my intuition says it probably won’t work.

agree   somewhat disagree   disagree

9. When considering someone else’s idea, I realize it is their personal point of view and try to guess whether possibly their opinion is biased by their circumstance, prior experience, or background education.

agree   somewhat agree   disagree

10. I search for patterns and possible solutions based on existing data but supplement it with new researched data if it doesn’t seem relevant to the problem solving.

agree   somewhat agree   disagree

11. Emotional bias is a given but I try to overcome it and be as objective and rational as possible.

agree   somewhat agree   disagree

12. If I sense the emotional bias of other humans and feel it is obscuring an objective view of the problem then I don’t take their solutions very seriously.

agree   somewhat agree   disagree

13. I ask questions where there is some doubt to make the desired outcome or solution to the problem more certain.

agree   somewhat agree   disagree

14. I look at how my industry and similar industries are handling similar problems to get insight into whether my solution is current and competitive.

Agree   somewhat agree   disagree

15. Look carefully at the experiential evidence which supports a decision to make sure it isn’t biased, especially emotionally.

agree   somewhat agree   disagree

16. I don’t randomly apply solutions to circumstances much beyond experiential evidence suggestions and/or examples.

Agree   somewhat agree   disagree

17. I would choose a solution that I was uncomfortable with if the experiential evidence from other similar sources strongly supported it.

Agree   somewhat agree   disagree

18. Once a course of action is determined for the best solution, I make sure to monitor the most critical task of the solution procedure.

agree   somewhat agree   disagree

19. When a circumstance changes, I sometimes adapt my initial assumptions to make sure that the solution will still be the right desired outcome.

agree   somewhat agree   disagree

20. I recognize the need for emotional intelligence in successfully motivating those under me which means appropriate rewards, punishments, motivating language, and a generally friendly and considerate demeanor.

Agree   somewhat agree   disagree

 

Total agrees _____ Total somewhat agrees_____ Total disagrees____

A candidate who totally agrees with all or most of the good problem solving techniques is a liar to some extent because no one is perfect and he or she is afraid to reveal underlying weaknesses. That human is  potentially a good yes man or woman but not one who will be very good at realistic leadership skills in problem solving.

 

A candidate with more than a handful of somewhat disagrees can be further questioned on why they somewhat disagree and you may find a truly thinking human who has useful and even workable but different opinions from perfection in all areas.  If the somewhat disagrees seem plausible and convincing then you may have a great problem solver as an employee.

A candidate with some disagrees is also useful information because you can follow up and ask why the disagreement and how would you handle the circumstance differently. Some reasons might be totally stupid but it might also reveal a personality that is intolerant, tyrannical, unable to deal with all kinds of employee personalities, has bad problem solving skills, etc.

 

If you liked this evergreen truth blog then read more of them, about 1500 so far, or read one or more of my evergreen truth books, especially COMMON SENSE, rays of truth in a human world filled with myths and deceptions.

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