Recognizing You Have an Opportunity

Some time ago, I wrote a post about “Admitting You Have a Problem” in which I pointed to a number of flaws with mischaracterizing problems as opportunities.   From the feedback I’ve received, it seems that the opposite (mischaracterizing opportunities as problems) is far more pervasive.  While I mentioned this issue in the original post, it was in the nature of an afterthought and the matter deserves a bit more attention.

I do think that the same litmus test can be applied – i.e., if the current situation can perpetuate, then it is an opportunity rather than a problem.   And in either case, the solution is to properly identify whether a situation is a problem or an opportunity, prioritize it appropriately, and use the correct decision-making process to solve or pursue it.   But because the panic-mongers and manipulators can be so tenacious in attempting to mislead others into treating opportunities as if they were problems, some thinking on countermeasures is in order.

The first countermeasure is to apply that litmus test.   Ask “and what happens if we don’t take action?”   If the answer is “nothing” or “nothing serious” then the problem can justly be reframed as an opportunity and a more leisurely and broad-minded approach to pursuing it can be taken.

Naturally, the panic-monger will heap on additional conditions that would cause the situation to degrade – “What if [x] also occurs?”  The solution to that is simply to make them do their homework.  Refuse to consider the disaster scenario until they provide solid evidence that it will occur, and return to a more sane approach to addressing the actual issues.  (Of course, if they can provide evidence of a high probability that the additional conditions will exist, then accept the notion that it should be treated as a problem – though in that instance the answer is to address the condition.)

A second countermeasure is to insist that the panic-monger do some homework.   As them to find out what the root cause of the problem is, and back their analysis with solid information. People who are obsessed with problems are often merely complaining and don’t have a sense of what their desired outcome will be, other than seeing a reaction to their panic.   They also tend to be quite intellectually lazy: they want to get others to take action to solve the problem they have pointed out.    They may need assistance to discover the cause of the problem, but very often the investigation process will result in discovering that the scope of the problem is much less than claimed.

This leads to the third countermeasure, which is to understand the scope and impact of the problem.   Again, the irrationality and laziness of the panic-monger is such that they have failed to consider whether the problem is worth solving.  At any moment, there are innumerable problems and opportunities – why should this one take precedence over others?   Serious problems must be addressed, but trivial ones can be abided.

Finally, it must be said that these measures should not be undertaken to discourage people from mentioning problems – that would be dangerous and inadvisable.  But those who constantly seek to interrupt operations and spin up panic must be coached to be more deliberate in the identification and analysis of situations so that the problems can be understood and prioritized appropriately.

Ultimately, the goal is the same: to correctly distinguish problems from opportunities, prioritize them appropriately, and apply the proper tools and techniques to acting upon them.