Let’s look at each of these possible solutions and
their probable outcomes. A large marketing campaign
would most likely increase sales. Limiting the avail-
ability to increase demand would eventually lead to
higher prices and greater profits, with a possible
increase in sales. But lowering costs would most likely
result in increasing sales and is a better way to increase
both sales and profit. Therefore, it makes sense, once
you have evaluated your possible solutions in terms of
possible outcomes, to choose solution c.
Practice
Your bathroom needs a major repair due to a plumb-
ing leak under your bathtub and you decide it is a good
time to renovate it. Everything is dated, the toilet tank
is cracked, the faucets leak, and the tiles are an unap-
pealing avocado green. The tub must be destroyed in
order to fix the leak.You have worked out a budget after
pricing new tiles, tub, vanity, sink, and toilet, and get-
ting a quote from the workmen who will install them.
The problem is that you don’t have $2,500 sitting
around to pay for the job.
After doing some brainstorming, you come up
with three possible solutions:
1. charge everything on a credit card
2. take out a home equity loan
3. have just the plumbing repair done now, which
costs $700, and wait to do the rest of the job
later
How should you proceed?
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Answer
There are three possibilities. The answer lies in how you
define your goal and how you evaluate the possible
solutions in light of that definition. Therefore, the first
step is to clarify your goal. Your bathroom is dated and
in disrepair, and you would like to redo it. This seems
like a good time, because some of the tile, as well as the
tub, is going to be torn out and replaced in order to fix
a leaky pipe.
The first possible solution, to charge everything
on your charge card, could work.You need to figure out
how much you could pay each month and the interest
rate you would be charged. How many months would
it take to pay off the debt and how much would it cost?
If the answer is quickly, and the interest charge is low,
this solution would make sense.
Solution 2 makes sense if the interest rate is lower
than the credit card. You might even be able to deduct
the interest you pay from your income tax. If the cost
of borrowing the money from the bank, using your
home as collateral, is lower than solution 1, this is the
best choice.
Solution 3 will cost you no money in interest
because you will not need to borrow. However, you will
also still need to redo your bathroom and have to tem-
porarily patch up areas where tile was removed. If solu-
tion 1 or 2 is not too costly, it probably makes sense to
choose one of them. You must have some major dem-
olition work done to fix the leak, and the plumber will
already be at your home. This is the time when you can
get the whole job done least expensively.
Roadblock to Setting Goals
A common problem with goals is that they are set too
large. If they cover too much ground, or are about
accomplishing something that will take a long time,
your goals may be difficult to reach or you may grow
tired of your plan before you complete it. When you set
–SETTING GOALS–
48
a goal, look at the number of steps you specified as well
as your timeline. Do the size and time period seem rea-
sonable? Can you picture yourself following the plan
as you wrote it to its conclusion? If you have a doubt,
it may be best to break down the original goal into
smaller, more manageable ones.
For example, your goal is to ask for a raise in six
months. You have filled out a goal chart as follows:
–SETTING GOALS–
49
Goal Setting Chart
Goal: I will ask for a raise in six months.
What is in my way: my job performance evaluation last month rated me “average”
How I will achieve my goal:
Step 1: I will work longer hours and get more done at work
Step 2: I will do become more knowledgeable about my company and figure out ways to use my skills
to my and my company’s advantage
What I need to accomplish goal: time, knowledge
Timeline for accomplishing goal:
Daily: be the first one into work and the last one out at night
Weekly: write a memo to my boss about what I have accomplished; check news for any stories about
my company; read all material published by my company, including prospectus and other stock holders’
information
When needed: meet with my boss to tell her about special accomplishments
Monthly or long term: check to see if I can help other employees with their projects
What I will get from goal: better evaluation, chance to get higher salary
Evaluate this goal in terms of its objectives and
timeline. This person is giving himself six months to
improve his job performance and to learn more about
his company, which does not seem unreasonable. But
look at the timeline. He expects that he will do all of
these things for the next 26 weeks, which could be dif-
ficult. Come in early and leave late every day? It would
be better to break down the goal into more manageable
pieces that he would not become tired of. Perhaps he
could even leave the deadline in place, but change the
timeline. For instance, the overall goal is to ask for a
raise in six months. For the first month, he will con-
centrate on improving his image with his boss by com-
ing in early and leaving late. Then, during the second
month, work hard during normal business hours, and
concentrate on reading information about the com-
pany at home on the weekend. During the third month,
he might check for news items about his company once
a week, but concentrate on brainstorming ways to help
other employees.
By breaking down the one large goal with its six-
month timeline into smaller goals of one month each,
the employee is more likely to follow through with his
plan. This point goes back to the fourth quality of a
valuable goal (see page 44): they are realistic. Be hon-
est when you evaluate the goals you set. If you have
doubts at the beginning as to whether you can accom-
plish it as set, go back and try to break it down into
more manageable pieces.
In Short
This lesson shows you how to set goals that you can
achieve, every time. By using the goal setting chart, you
create a map that helps lead you from problem to solu-
tion. Setting goals requires you to think through a strat-
egy and break it down into manageable steps. It means
setting a deadline, and deciding exactly what you will
do, and when, in order to achieve your goal. It also
means choosing the right possible solution as your aim
and honestly evaluating your goal to be certain it is rea-
sonable. By setting good goals, you can move from
where you are (faced with a problem or decision) to
where you want to be (having an effective solution).
–SETTING GOALS–
50
■Choose a short-term goal for yourself, such as a household repair. Using the list of five qualities
of a valuable goal (see page 44), determine how you will get the repair accomplished. Set a dead-
line, be specific about what exactly you need to do, and write it all down as a visual reminder of
what you will accomplish.
■For a longer-term goal, such as going back to school or something else that will take you a few
weeks or months to achieve, use the goal setting chart. Break down the goal if necessary and
include every step you must take, as well as when those steps will be taken. Create a map that
shows how you will get from where you are to where you want to be.
Skill Building Until Next Time
TROUBLESHOOTING IS ABOUT thinking ahead. Before things do not go as planned, before you
are faced with huge problems, you think through your situation, identify issues that could get
in your way, and take care of them. When you troubleshoot, you anticipate what might go wrong
and keep problems from growing by resolving them when they are of a more manageable size, or, you pre-
vent them from coming into existence in the first place.
Troubleshooting is also about taking care of the setbacks that can stall you as you work toward reach-
ing a goal. From small annoyances to major setbacks, these problems must be resolved in order to get where
you need to go.
Identifying Problems That Interfere with Goals
After you set a goal and begin working toward it, you will inevitably be faced with a roadblock or two. You
learned in Lesson 1 that you can’t solve, or “troubleshoot” problems without first acknowledging them and
LESSON
Troubleshooting
LESSON SUMMARY
This lesson is about taking care of the large and small problems that
can get in your way and stall your progress.
6
51
that holds true for the problems that interfere with your
goals. Some of these problems are foreseeable; that is,
you can anticipate them before you even begin to work
toward your goal. Others are unexpected and must be
dealt with as they arise. Unexpected problems are usu-
ally easier to spot, and easier to solve, even though you
have not prepared for them. Identifying foreseeable
problems takes more work. You must honestly assess
the goal you wish to achieve and think critically about
what must be overcome in order to achieve it.
An example of a foreseeable problem may be
found in Lesson 5, in which a goal-setting chart was
presented. The goal is to get better grades, and the stu-
dent notes that “too much socializing”and “poor study
skills” are the problems in his way. Before he even
begins to work toward achieving better grades, he
knows what he must overcome or solve in order to suc-
cessfully reach his goal. Note that both problems are
probably not simple for the student to solve, as they
require breaking habits and acquiring new skills. Social-
izing less means spending fewer hours with friends—
not a desirable thing to do. Improving study skills
involves finding and learning information.
Unforeseeable problems are typically inconven-
iences that get in your way as you work toward achiev-
ing your goal. For instance, you are doing some research
for your boss and need a particular book from your
local university’s library. When you go to pick it up, you
find that it is already checked out. Another example of
an unforeseeable problem is technology hang-ups. Your
computer could crash, or your printer could break
down as you are trying to get a report done by a dead-
line. These problems are relatively easy to solve. In the
first case, you have a number of possibilities. You can
ask for the book to be returned, ask the library to check
other libraries for the book, or even look for it at book
stores if the price is reasonable. Technology problems
might take an expert to fix, but in the meantime, you
could find a temporary solution such as working from
a backup disk on someone else’s equipment.
Unexpected problems, by their nature, can’t be
planned for. You must simply figure out the best way
to solve them quickly and thoroughly and then get back
on your path. The rest of this lesson focuses on trou-
bleshooting the first type of problem, because it is more
complex, being more difficult to find and more diffi-
cult to solve.
Practice
List at least two of each type of problem that could arise
in the following scenario. Note that while this example
involves a business setting, very similar problems occur
both at home and at school. When you are busy and
your schedule is tight, you should be thinking seriously
about troubleshooting.
Lee has a meeting with his boss and three cowork-
ers at 10:30 to discuss new business. He is expected to
present some ideas for landing a specific new account.
He also has a conference scheduled across town at a
major client’s offices for 11:30, in which he is to give an
update on progress made on the account.
Foreseeable Problems:
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______________________________________
______________________________________
Unexpected Problems:
______________________________________
______________________________________
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–TROUBLESHOOTING–
52