Chances are, almost everyone has had a toothache. You know how it goes… At first, we ignore it and hope it will go away. When that doesn’t work, we look for some sort of relief in the form of an aspirin or something to rub on it. Maybe we even seek some strong beverage that will help us forget the pain. But despite our attempts, relief is only temporary. Eventually, the pain gets bad enough that we’re forced to take action to find a permanent cure. And when it’s all over and the pain is gone, we wonder why we waited so long to get it fixed!
Now, let me ask you a question: How do you handle problems at work?
In my experience, most of us tend to handle a “workache” the same way we handle a toothache. We ignore it for a while until it becomes too unpleasant. Then we try any number of things to temporarily solve the problem and ease the “pain.” But we never get to the root (sorry for the obvious pun) of the problem, and so the issue is never completely resolved. We’re hesitant to take the action necessary to fix it for good.
Why don’t we just take action at the first sign of a problem and avoid all the pain and suffering?
Now, this more logical and effective approach can be painful and expensive, but “painful” and “expensive” are relative terms. The “pain” involved with a permanent solution is usually a tradeoff of minutes versus days or weeks. For example, consider the short-term pain of confronting a teammate versus the extended pain of an unpleasant working environment. And when it comes to the expense of fixing problems, it’s most often a situation of “pay me now or pay me (more) later.” In other words, the longer a problem festers, the more it will cost – in money, resources or time – to fix it.
Whether we have a toothache or a workache, deep down we know the best solution – fix it the right way, right away.
We must deal with the issues that keep us from taking immediate action so that we can enjoy the long-term benefits of a permanent cure for our pain. If we don’t, we’re destined to have these problems interfere with our quality of life – just like that cold glass of water that’s supposed to refresh us, not create pain and suffering...ouch! |
