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How many times do we have a problem in front of us, and the solution is so painfully simple that it takes what seems like forever to figure out?

This happened the other night at our house. Our family was enjoying a television show when someone requested, with regard to the volume, “Turn it up!” The remote control was right next to me, so I habitually started pressing the volume’s + button. I should be able to hold the button down and have the volume continually go up, but, lately, it’s been a bit contrary, and I’ve had to distinctively push the button for each volume number I’ve wanted to adjust up or down. This night, it would adjust only one number at a time after at least 5 pushes of that + button.

I kept pushing, and, impatient for the adjustment, one of my kids proclaimed, “Oh, my, gosh, that has been happening a lot!” as she got up to adjust the volume on the television itself. I, in the meantime, was trying to adjust the volume (even though it had just been manually manipulated) by holding my arm completely outstretched to the side and turning the remote just so to aim it at a different angle with my now-contorted wrist. I figured if I got the angle just right and pushed the little button hard enough, it would work, and the problem would be solved.

But, would the problem be solved? Or, was I working to accommodate a problem that could actually be fixed if I took the time to step back and think about what I was doing versus what I was trying to accomplish. Did I (or any of us for that matter) stop and think that there was once a day in recent history where we could be anywhere in the room, point the remote in the vicinity of the television and have it work? Or, were we merely accommodating a festering problem only to find ourselves stymied for an answer when the accommodations were no longer effective?

Consider how this mindset can come into play in so many “every day” issues at work. For instance:

• Is your schedule unbearably overloaded on certain days of the week but could be lightened just by moving a few tasks to a different day? Take a look at what you’re doing, and consider if you are keeping certain tasks in place because they really need to be accomplished on that day or if you’re doing them then because that’s when you’ve always done them.
• Is there tension between you and a co-worker that could be alleviated by taking some time to talk through a problem? Ask to have lunch together, and communicate with each other. You might find out you are walking on eggshells around a perceived problem rather than one that actually exists.
• Is there a task you’ve been assigned that is intimidating to you, therefore, it’s just sitting? Knowing a job is lingering unaccomplished is a heavy weight to bear! But, is the intimidation a result of not really understanding the expected outcome? Not being clear on details is not the same as not having the ability to perform. Get the clarification you need to start making progress!

I think we sometimes overlook the obvious solutions because those are often the most simple, and we forget that simple can be an option. We want to rise to the expectations of ourselves and of those put upon us. We want to demonstrate our complex problem-solving abilities because we are, indeed, capable of solving the complex. We require ourselves to strategize and come up with educated plans for productivity. And, in doing so, we sometimes forget to stop and try to solve a problem by using the most basic of skills or strategies.

The end of the remote control story is that we solved the problem by – you guessed it – changing the almost-dead battery. My husband, who was not participating in the human-pretzel strategy of working his way around the problem, popped in a fresh battery, and presto! The remote worked like new. Simple.

Are you wrestling with a nagging problem? Give going back to the basics a try. Perhaps the solution is much more simple than you are trying to make it.

Nancy Stoker is a Senior Client Services Representative and Research Associate with ExecSearches.com. She can be reached at nancys@execsearches.com.

ExecSearches.com is a job board for nonprofit job seekers interested in fundraising, management and executive nonprofit jobs.

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Last updated on September 18th, 2012 at 05:14 pm

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