Problem Solving?

One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops - a few people got on, a few got off, and things went on generally well.

At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on. Six feet eight, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the driver and said, "Big John doesn't pay!" and sat down at the back.

Did I mention that the driver was five feet three, thin, and basically meek? Well, he was. Naturally, he didn't argue with Big John, but he wasn't happy about it.

The next day the same thing happened. Big John got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. So this went on and on, one day after next, and so forth.

This grated on the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way. Big John was taking advantage of him.

Finally he could stand it no longer. He signed up for body building courses, karate, judo, and all that good stuff. By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; what's more, he felt really good about himself.

So on the next Monday, when Big John once again got on the bus and said, "Big John doesn't pay!" the driver stood up, glared back at him, and screamed, "And WHY NOT?"

With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, "Big John has a bus pass."

Moral of the story:

"Be sure there is a problem in the first place before working hard to solve one."

The way I look at it:

Practical planter always tries to solve any problem on site where he can see for himself, make analysis, trace to find out the root cause of the problem and take appropriate action to solve it. Afraid to commit oneself on the first place, based on false assumption or wrong information, is already the beginning of failure. Never fear of tackling a problem but make sure it is a real problem and not an excuse for not doing the job. Ever heard of, “Failure is the mother of Success?”

Being professionals, we must able to do the impossible (especially in Crisis Management) and not finding excuses not to do the possible (routine work and operations).

(The IMPOSSIBLE MISSION always turns out to be POSSIBLE!)