It is probably the weirdest title for a blog post ever, but a term, or an analogy that we often use in some of our courses.
If you throw jelly at a wall, only small parts of it stick. Most of it will fall away and land on the floor. The best it will do is leave a big stain on the wall.
We use this analogy to describe the approach that some people use when problem-solving. Whether this is a complex problem or an issue or problem that a team member or team mate has.
Sometimes when these problems occur, we make assumptions that we know what is going on and how to fix it. Or, we give little or no thought at all to a solution and jump straight in to try and fix it. When our first attempt doesn’t work, we try another and another then another, in the hope that eventually something works.
Just like throwing at a wall, all we probably do is leave a big stain on the relationships that we have with those around us, and you will have lots of mess to clean up.
If you are facing a problem, don’t throw solutions at it. If the problem or issue is with a team member or a team mate, simply asking what’s wrong and how can you work together to resolve their issue is the simple way of getting it right the first time.
If it’s a complex issue then using some simple problem-solving techniques can help to quickly get to the root cause of the issue to help you put a first-time fix into place.
Both of the above may appear to take a bit longer but isn’t probably the case. You should get the fix right the first time, and you will have a lot less mess to clear up afterwards.
Are you guilty of throwing jelly?
