Why Problems Occur (Alert #5): Big over Small

People prefer big, grand solutions to small ones. They prefer to make a splash rather than a ripple.

Focusing on the big rather than small, is another alert I heed as a problem identifier. This occurs when people apply overarching solutions rather than surgically specific ones, declaring the forest a problem rather than specific trees.

Even though focusing on the forest is often easier, it differs from the Easy-Difficult Alert in that much of the Big-Small Alert is a function of personality; some don’t have the mindset or temperament to dive into the specifics of a situation. Just as various cameras varying ranges of resolutions, people see problems – and life – through varying resolutions. Also, politically, the big might become important to show decisive, sweeping actions. Reorganizations are a frequent example.

Here are some examples of over focus on the big causing problems in the right circumstances:

• Reorganizing a department rather than looking for several specific problems
• Sending everyone through the same training rather than determining who needs it or providing different levels
• Relying upon the statistics and executive summaries in decisions rather than in-person assessments
• Conducting general, demographic surveys rather than segmenting responders according to personalities, tendencies, importance, etc.
• Assessing employee morale on an anonymous 1-10 scale rather than conducting one-on-one interviews with select employees
• Benchmarking budgets against last year rather than taking a “first-year” or “start-up” perspective
• Creating processes and rules to solve implemental problems rather than diving into the individual relationships and personalities
• Providing training for employees rather than coaching for managers
• Working on strategies rather than tactics, techniques and specific steps
• Revising plans rather than investigating implementation

In simple terms, we often experience the Big-Small Alert when we don’t explore and incorporate details well. So, when we find ourselves thinking, “Devil’s in the details,” problems are often lurking.