There’s a way to do it better – find it. – Thomas Edison

Every day companies around the world, and even more commonly small business employees encounter problems that require time and money to solve, and yet have already been solved in other companies, and many times by other individuals within the same organization! However, these problems remain as stumbling blocks because the person faced with the problem either doesn’t want to ask, or doesn’t know who to ask or where to look.  What a waste of resources.  The information is available, but without the tools or skills to find it, it’s back to the drawing board.  Unfortunately once a solution is found, it’s rarely documented or passed on, further continuing the cycle.

I recently finished listening to the audio book,  Monday Morning Leadership.  In it, the author explains that no management problem is unique to your situation.  There are commonalities and patterns in every situation and recognizing them, or getting assistance from someone who can, expedites the process dramatically.  Go find those people.  Learn the common patterns.  Problem solving doesn’t have to be a tedious grinding process to find a solution, often an easier and better solution is widely available.  You won’t be considered less capable if you find an existing solution, on the contrary you should be regarded for solving the problem more quickly and cheaply by thinking outside of the traditional problem solving mentality.  Don’t keep it to yourself though, that’s what collaboration is all about.

Where do you find these solutions?  I’m currently listening to Wikinomics, and have been intrigued with the concept of a common place to share and trade technological solutions and ideas, what the authors term an “ideagora“.  The book deals primarily from a corporate perspective, discussing the ability to license underutilized patents or other intellectual property (IP) as a means of additional revenue, but I would argue the concept has a much broader usage.  With the increased collaboration across departmental and even organizational lines, everyone can benefit from the improved efficiency of shared knowledge and experience.

In a way this collaboration has exploded on the internet in recent years, from Yahoo Answers and Google Groups, to message boards on any topic imaginable, there are users helping other users.  At this point however, finding the answer usually results in a time consuming search through various searches and websites.  There still remains an opportunity for an easy to find and use network of users where answers that can be updated and maintained.  It may remain a niche portal that contains the content, but the ability to discover and aggregate that content, will be crucial.

Next time you find yourself faced with a problem, instead of struggling to solve it alone – go find the answer with the help of others.  Someone within your organization, or network has already likely encountered it, and if not, you can guarantee someone else on the internet already has.