Effective, Original Solutions – Terrapex Environment Column, published in Affaires Rive-Sud.

Finding a problem (whatever the problem) is never fun, and some problems and their solutions can be life changing. The first question usually asked is how did this happen? In my experience, if you look at the problem pyramid most problems start with a small oversight. If you catch the oversight at the top of the pyramid, it can usually be fixed at a very small cost. The farther down the pyramid the oversight goes, the more the solution becomes expensive and complicated. Catching the problem at the top of the pyramid requires a quality control system and insight, a philosophy that can be applied to any element of a business or a life.

Finding solutions is different. There is an element of trouble shooting that is more of an art than a science. Nowadays, at the auto shop they plug your car in and let the car tell the mechanic what is troubling it, kind of like humans with doctors. I am not saying that it is a bad thing, but there are still good mechanics and not-so-good mechanics, just as there are good doctors and not-so-good doctors. A passionate doctor or a passionate mechanic… In general, people that are passionate about what they do will bring better solutions to the table.

Empathy vs. Apathy
Apathy looks for the quick fix, the easiest way out, a band-aid. Empathy understands and looks for the best possible solutions as if the problem were his or her own. Empathy spends money like it was their own. Empathy keeps the problem-bearer informed. And it is rare.

Lastly, in this age where hockey players and team owners fight over whose cup will overflow the most, when the elderly are regularly cheated out of their life savings, greed is palpable. A fair and reasonable profit is good for everyone, but taking advantage of a situation, which in many cases is someone else’s nightmare, is inhuman. Taking care of business, from our point of view, means taking care of each other.