Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

We were once told, “Don’t bring me a problem without a solution.” I hope most of us have ignored that.

There was a time when I was repeatedly told at work, “Don’t bring me a problem without a solution.”

The idea was that bosses had enough to do already and didn’t need any more problems from little folks like me. If there was a problem, I was supposed to think and think and think up a solution so that I could tell the boss, “This is what is wrong. This is what we should do.” If I didn’t have a remedy, I should not mention the problem.

It was a great idea. Well, it wasn’t a great idea. The counter example was if there was someone in the hallway and their heart stopped beating and their breathing stopped as well, I wasn’t to tell anyone unless I knew exactly how to revive them. You can see the fallacy here.

“That’s an exaggeration,” was the answer.

Still, someone became a boss because they knew some things that the rest of us didn’t. Right? Therefore, the boss knew how to solve problems that the rest of us didn’t. Right? Well, perhaps I was just naïve.

I am happy to report that I haven’t heard this problem-with-solution-only phrase in many years. Perhaps it has faded away to that place where stupid ideas should fade.

If you have a problem and don’t have a solution, raise your hand anyways. We can all do better.