Problem Solving, the Multi-pronged Way

The best thing a previous boss taught me: when presented with a daunting problem that you think you can solve, but that may take you a while to figure out, first send out a question to someone you think knows the answer.  It could be another developer, someone on twitter, a manager, your mom, a vendor, whomever you think has a good chance of helping you through your current issue.

The point is to get the question out there before spending a lot of time trying to find the solution on your own. This has a few possible outcomes:

• You could spend hours researching a problem and still end up stymied and have to make that call
• The person could give you an immediate answer, and your problem is solved
• You could struggle for hours before they get back to you with an answer, and your problem is solved
• You could figure things much more quickly than you expect, and you may feel as if you've wasted someone else’s time

In all these scenarios, with the various outcomes, I've found this to be a life-changing strategy. Instead of muddling through for a long time and getting a “good enough” solution, I now can get “best of breed” or much more solid answers more quickly as the result of collaboration.

People rarely feel as if you've wasted their time, and often if you find an answer before they get back to you, you get an automatic vetting of the solution, or another solution that you can choose between.

Bottom line: don't struggle on your own with a problem.  Short-circuit that process and ask for help.