Was your company a victim of the recent ransomware \/ malware attack that crippled the computer systems of companies around the globe? Or does your company consider itself lucky to have been spared the costs and devastating impacts that have consumed global headlines and sent IT professionals and law enforcement into a frenzy? Regardless of how your company faired with this incident, business leaders across industries are taking this as a wake-up call that it\u2019s time to get real about the risks that come with a digital enterprise and the prolific dependency on technology.<\/p>\n
Ironically, most leaders are focusing their attention on \u201chow did we handle the incident?\u201d which is entirely the wrong question. The questions that IT and business leaders should be asking are: \u201cHow did we get into the situation (or not)?\u201d and \u201cWhat can we learn from the situation that can help us avoid it in the future?\u201d These are the key questions of a discipline called \u201cProblem Management\u201d and if they haven\u2019t been the focus of leadership and staff discussion, you may have a bigger problem on your hands than a malware attack.<\/p>\n
Problem management is more than a process, it is a set of skills and it is an organizational culture focused on learning and continuous improvement.\u00a0 In the context of IT, problem management can help companies look beyond the immediate impact of incidents to identify and implement the preventative steps to manage risk and resolve vulnerabilities. Problem management and problem solving skills don\u2019t just apply to IT, they have been used for decades to improve the quality of manufacturing, resolve customer issues, improve cost performance and even prepare for catastrophic disasters.<\/p>\n
If recent events are leaving you a bit uneasy about your company\u2019s readiness to deal with unknown events and business impacting situations, here are 3 things that you can do today to improve your problem management capabilities.<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0Improve the problem-solving skills of your employees<\/strong> \u2013 Problem solving is a core set of skills that are applicable across industries and job roles. Your best ideas and most valuable resources in a crisis are your people. An investment in skills training shows you value their contributions and establishes a consistent foundation for problem management processes and culture.<\/p>\n 2. Start asking the right questions<\/strong> \u2013 Cultural change begins with focusing the discussions away from reactive behavior towards acknowledging risk and planning for uncertainty.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0Review your problem management process<\/strong> \u2013 Problem solving is like riding a bike or driving a car with a lot of muscle memory and repetitive behaviors involved.\u00a0 Your problem management process establishes a repeatable standard of how problem solving should take place within your company, both ongoing and in response to an incident. \u00a0If your employees know the process, they can focus more of their attention on identifying and solving problems (instead of the mechanics)<\/p>\n If you are still feeling a bit overwhelmed, don\u2019t be alarmed\u2026 help is available. For over 60 years, the problem-solving experts at Kepner-Tregoe have been helping companies and governmental organizations across a wide variety of industries improve their problem management capabilities. Whether it is Problem Solving skills training for your employees, help in installing industry leading problem solving processes or facilitating your team through the diagnosis and remediation of mission critical issues, Kepner-Tregoe is here to help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Problem management helps companies think beyond immediate impact to manage risk and resolve vulnerabilities Was your company a victim of the recent ransomware \/ malware attack that crippled the computer systems of companies around the globe? Or does your company consider itself lucky to have been spared the costs and devastating impacts that have consumed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[83],"class_list":["post-25021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-other"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n