Answer
Reponses will vary, but should include:
Foreseeable Problems: Lee needs to adequately
prepare for both meetings, which could take
more time than he originally scheduled. He
may have to work late the night before, or
put off other tasks until he is ready for the
two meetings.
Unexpected Problems: the first meeting could
run over its allotted time, making Lee late for
his second meeting; Lee could have difficulty
getting to the client’s office due to traffic,
unavailability of taxis, etc.; Lee’s presentation
could go poorly at one or both meetings.
Troubleshooting Problems
That Interfere with Goals
Troubleshooting foreseeable and potential problems
can be difficult. It requires critical thinking skills to
examine the path to your goal, and imagine or note all
of the things that might go wrong as you work toward
achieving it. For example, you had minor outpatient
surgery and received a bill for $8,500. You can submit
it to your insurance company which will cover 80% of
the cost. However, the company has rules for filing
claims, including that they be submitted no later than
30 days after treatment. If you wait two months before
trying to get reimbursed, you will lose $6,800.
Let’s look at this problem in terms of trou-
bleshooting ahead of time. You have a very expensive
bill to pay. You can solve that problem by filing a claim
with your insurance company because it is a covered
expense. How can you determine the potential prob-
lems that could prevent you from being reimbursed
$6,800? The best way is to familiarize yourself with all
of the rules of your insurance company. Do they require
the hospital to bill them directly? Do they require pre-
approval? Do they have a time limit for claim filing?
Once you understand exactly what they demand, you
can follow their rules and get reimbursed.Your poten-
tial problems, in other words, are defined in this case
as the rules for reimbursement. If you do not follow all
of them, you will not get your money.
Practice
You agree to take your friend’s one-year-old son for
an afternoon while he attends a business meeting.
You don’t know much about children, other than
having once been one yourself. How can you trou-
bleshoot the problems that you imagine you might
encounter? Circle all answers that apply.
a. Ask another friend with a baby to teach you how
to change a diaper.
b. Rent some videos a one-year old boy might like.
c. Read some child-rearing books.
d. Do some comparison shopping for size 12-month
clothes.
Answer
All responses except choice dare examples of trou-
bleshooting. You will not be expected to provide clothes
for your friend’s child but you will need to change his
diaper and entertain him. Child-rearing books could
give you some advice on how to handle the boy.
Prevention Versus Cure
Another type of troubleshooting involves problem-
causing trends. If you are constantly faced with the
same type of problem, you should look at how to pre-
vent it in the future. Figure out what is causing the
problem and how you make changes to stop it from
–TROUBLESHOOTING–
53
recurring. By employing this type of troubleshooting, you prevent a problem rather than always trying to solve
it each time it occurs.
Perhaps your boss meets with his boss every Friday morning to give an update as to your department’s
progress. You begin to notice a trend. At 4:00 P.M. every Thursday, your boss starts to become irritable. He asks
you to summarize what you and your colleagues have accomplished during the week. He always needs the sum-
mary in an hour, no matter what other urgent business you have to tend to. Some weeks, you have had to drop
important work to write the summary and it has given others the impression that you were not working hard
enough. There are a number of ways in which you might prevent another such Thursday afternoon, rather than
simply dealing with it the same way week after week.
You could ask to speak with your boss about the summaries, and find out if this will be your responsibility
each week. If it is, you might consider asking your boss to alert the others in your department that every Thurs-
day you will be busy from 4:00–5:00, so everyone is clear about what you are doing. Another possible solution
would be to clear your own schedule on Thursday afternoons, or even begin work on the summary on Thursday
morning, or even earlier in the week. If you know you will be expected to complete this task, you can troubleshoot
by preventing it from becoming a crisis. Take control of your work schedule and be ready every Thursday for the
inevitable job of writing the summary.
Below is a graph you might want to use to explore possible troubleshooting methods. It can work for pre-
ventative troubleshooting, as described in the section above, or for anticipated problems that will occur whether
you are prepared for them or not.
–TROUBLESHOOTING–
54
Troubleshooting Graph
GOAL
How to solve it:
How to avoid it:
Potential
Problem
#1
How to solve it:
How to avoid it:
Potential
Problem
#3
How to solve it:
How to avoid it:
Potential
Problem
#2
Here is a graph that has been completed to show what might happen if your goal was to graduate one semes-
ter early.
Practice
Scenario: you are asked by your boss to order the food for your annual company picnic. She anticipates that 70
coworkers will attend. Last year, 65 people were at the picnic and they consumed 50 hamburgers and 40 hot dogs.
You know there will be a problem if you order too much or too little food. How can you troubleshoot these prob-
lems?
GOAL:
How to solve it:
How to avoid it:
Potential
Problem #1:
How to solve it:
How to avoid it:
Potential
Problem #2:
GOAL:
to graduate
one semester
early
How to solve it: Take two courses every summer
How to avoid it: Not applicable
Potential
Problem #1:
I need 96
credits
How to solve it: Use the alumni directory to
contact alumni for job information on my own
How to avoid it: Ask if I can attend anyway
Potential
Problem #3:
will miss on-
campus alumni
job fair
How to solve it: Accept it, I still have
what I want
How to avoid it: Ask if I can be given
my diploma in May rather than January
Potential
Problem #2:
won’t be in
graduation
ceremony
–TROUBLESHOOTING–
55
Answer
Answers will vary, but yours might include:
GOAL:
order the right
amount of
food
How to solve it: pack leftovers in ice-filled
coolers, freeze, and have another “picnic”
in the office a few weeks later
How to avoid it: send out questionnaire
asking people to say what they will eat
Potential
Problem #1:
Too much
food
How to solve it: call pizzeria on cell phone
from
p
icnic and
p
lace order for deliver
y
How to avoid it: send out questionnaire
asking people to say what they will eat
Potential
Problem #2:
Too little
food
–TROUBLESHOOTING–
56
In Short
Troubleshooting begins with identifying those problems that will or may get in the way of your achieving your
goals. You might know about them ahead of time, and even be able to prevent them, or keep minor problems
from becoming major. Or, you may encounter them as they arise without warning. Either way, knowing how to
find solutions and move forward will ensure that you reach your destination.
■Practice troubleshooting someone else’s problems. When a friend tells you about his or her cur-
rent dilemma, think about how they might have prevented it or how they can solve it.
■Practice troubleshooting a global issue. Read a few articles on an issue of international impor-
tance, such as the crisis in the Middle East or global warming. Use the troubleshooting graph to
work through possible ways to avoid or resolve the problems that may or will result from this issue.
Skill Building Until Next Time
THERE ARE MANY problems and decisions that require little more from us than sorting through
familiar details. For instance, you do not need to gather much information to decide about
whether to ask for a raise or when to study for an exam. You already know the facts; you must
simply use them wisely to come to a decision.
But what if you do not know what to base a decision on? What if there are factors that need to be con-
sidered that you are not familiar with? Thinking critically means being armed with accurate information,
because the quality of your solutions and decisions is only as good as the information you use to make them.
This lesson considers three types of resources: the Internet, the library, and human resources. The next sec-
tion explores each, explaining when to use them, the best ways to get the most out of them, and their pos-
sible shortcomings.
LESSON
Finding
Resources
LESSON SUMMARY
Sometimes you may find yourself facing a complicated decision for
which you do not have all the facts to resolve. Other times, especially
at work or school, you may be asked to justify your decisions. This les-
son is about finding the information you need to make decisions and
create solutions.
7
57