Solving the Problems in Front of You

I went to a station to refill a rental car with gas before returning it to the agency. As usual, I guessed the wrong side for the gas tank and had to circle around to put the car at the right angle to pump the gas. I couldn’t figure out where the latch to open the gas cap was located, and there was no owner’s manual in the glove box to help.

On my smart phone, I did a quick Google search by voice command using the car make, model and “gas tank door latch” as keywords. The results were an online forum with my answer: the door was latched magnetically and required a gentle push to open. This simple voice search saved me 5 to 10 minutes of hunting around for a non-existent latch and a lot of frustration.

These searches from our PCs, phones, tablets and other devices help us solve problems quickly and painlessly every day. Google and the other search engines, along with the right selection and number of keywords, often help us get an answer to a problem in front of us. Although it’s not foolproof, most times, these methods of finding what we need work great.

IN THE INBOX

For businesses, an important issue today with searching is that a lot of wisdom is trapped in email inboxes and “sent items” folders. Desktop indexing and search software such as the search built into PC operating systems or desktop search applications can find some information. But such tools don’t help us with the information that hasn’t reached our inboxes.

Different approaches ranging from content management systems to blogs, wikis, online collaboration and community software are being tried as search destinations with varying degrees of success. The key element to that success seems to be the number of people willing to participate in each approach and the community that naturally forms from this participation.

Metcalfe’s Law states that: “The value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system (n2).” Robert Metcalfe, who is responsible for that principle, also offered this:

…a more insightful and, I think, important contribution to the conversation — that to understand the value of a social network we need to consider not just the number of users but also the affinity between the members of the network.

My take on this is that the fastest path to the information you need is to solve the problem in front of you. If a Google search or question posed to your immediate colleague does not yield a quick answer, you should try your social network. That is, provided you’ve built this network to sufficient size to realize the exponential effects described by Metcalfe’s Law.

ANOTHER MIND

Why do I advise this? Beyond the social bonds you establish, with each and every connection, you are adding another human brain to the equation (as one source puts it):

…containing about 10 billion nerve cells, or neurons. On average, each neuron is connected to other neurons through about 10,000 synapses… The brain’s network of neurons forms a massively parallel information processing system. This contrasts with conventional computers, in which a single processor executes a single series of instructions.

Imagine if you’ve built your social network into the hundreds—that’s a massively parallel information-processing power with the potential to help in your problem-solving quest.

One way to expand that network is to join “Groups” if you use LinkedIn, in your areas of expertise or use the “Answers” area to ask questions. You also might try answering others’ questions and building expertise credibility when your answer is selected as a good or best answer. If you do a search on the word “valve” in the LinkedIn Groups area of the site, you’ll find 10 pages of groups, including Valve World Group, Valve Network, Valve Solution and Valve User Forum, to name just a few.

Increasingly, Facebook fan pages are being used by businesses and leading brands. Similar to LinkedIn Groups, these fan pages provide a wall on which to ask and answer questions. You may want to search and connect with the company or brands that you use when you encounter the need for answers. I did a Facebook page search on “valve,” for example, and again had pages and pages of search results.

If you use Twitter, try posing questions to those who choose to follow you. You’ll grow your list of followers as you share interesting things about yourself and/or your expertise. Or if Twitter is not for you, try using some of the well-established email lists from the International Society of Automation and Control.com.

My recommended problem-solving path is to start with the search engines. Next, tap your close circle of colleagues. Then, try your social network.

And as you take these steps, always look for ways to build this social network by offering your expertise through some of the ways I’ve highlighted. Your efforts will be rewarded exponentially.

Jim Cahill leads Emerson Process Management’s social media efforts and writes the Emerson Process Experts blog: www.EmersonProcessXperts.com.