Why Band-Aid Your Problems? Stitch Them!

July 20th, 2008          Email This Post        Print This Post

When a problem come up, do you recall with dread that you had this same problem a few times in the past, but it keeps on happening? Your secretary or partner keeps making the same mistake that you have to fix. Your child keeps doing something you don’t want. Someone asks for help to do something on the computer. So you fix the problem, but it keeps happening. Why won’t it go away?

The problem comes back because you are putting on a band-aid instead of stitches. Short term, shallow fixes don’t last. They don’t resolve the underlying cause. Its like putting a band-aid on a deep cut. It may hold it closed for a little, but doesn’t actually solve the problem. Often, just a little more time, effort, or creativity will give you a long term answer. When someone needs help on the computer, don’t just do it for them - show them how. If you settle for a short term band-aid without considering how to permanently fix the issue, you are wasting time.

Crises that come up are quadrant I - important and urgent. Dealing with them doesn’t help you in the long run. View your quadrant I problems as quadrant II opportunities - the things that are important but not urgent. Use problems as a reminder to do the things you feel are important, but not so urgent. If you haven’t gotten to fully training someone to use the computer program, use this opportunity to do this part of the training.

What do you keep putting band-aids on? Stitch it instead!

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