Problem solving in business lays the groundwork for innovation, creativity, and data-driven decision making. Harnessing this skill will be crucial to moving up through the corporate ranks, helping you to stand out from the crowd in a competitive market.
We caught up with a management expert from Old Dominion University (ODU) to ask: Why is problem solving in business important?
Problem solving allows you to navigate an unknown future
There’s one thing for certain: the future of the business world is unknown.
The only way to navigate what you can’t foresee is to gain the tools and knowledge necessary to tackle arising problems.
Jay O’Toole is an assistant professor in the Management Department at ODU’s Strome College of Business.
“Problem solving is the core function of an executive—the decision makers who think deeply about the direction of a firm and how to achieve their vision and goals,” he says.
Having a 360-degree view of all business angles will be increasingly important as the business world undergoes digital transformation, with disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) creating both solutions and problems for business leaders.
“If problem solving is only thought of as identifying the solution, then you’ve started out on the wrong foot,” says Jay. “Problem solving is fundamentally about figuring out something where there is no known solution.”
Problem solving helps you build the right mindset
Being a strong problem solver means that you’ve developed a mindset that can help you go far in business.
The ODU MBA program is invested in the business of problem solving, which Jay explains as being able to apply a variety of different lenses and frameworks to the unknown future.
MBA students are taught analytic frameworks to address given problems and study theories such as Carol Dweck’s growth mindset.
“It isn’t just about understanding and applying analytic frameworks—it’s also about establishing a problem-solving culture,” he says.
Since problem solving is integrated across the ODU MBA, students are encouraged to see the connections between problem solving techniques and different topics.
Students can choose to concentrate their MBA in areas such as Business Analytics, Supply Chain Management, and Maritime and Ports Management, experiencing how problem solving relates to their specializations.
“We teach students how obstacles can be seen as opportunities,” says Jay.
Creativity and innovation links to problem solving in business
Without problem solving in business, creativity and innovation can be stifled.
“It was once thought that innovation was a subset of management, but innovation is a mainstay for all businesses,” he says.
The ODU MBA program deploys business simulations and the Harvard case method to help students engage with real-world techniques that innovative firms use in problem solving today.
Previous projects have involved students helping the Virginia Opera House identify ways to grow its membership.
The Strome College of Business hosted an Artist-in-Residence to help students interact with divergent thinking. The Artist-in-Residence introduced ideas on creative problem-solving techniques and infused more creativity into the curriculum, to change the way students think about the world, explains Jay.
In the future, this could change to an Engineer in Residence program, based on the changing priorities of the business school and wider industry, he adds.
Problem solving in business is important for accessing the C-suite
If you’re considering an MBA program, it’s likely that you have your sights set on the C-suite.
Developing a strong understanding of problem solving in business is key to reaching this level and helping you to stand apart from middle managers, says Jay.
In fact, social skills—including self-awareness, the ability to listen and communicate, and work with different groups—are among some of the most in-demand skills for those in the C-suite, according to a Harvard Business Review study.
These three qualities are important for effective problem solving in business.
“We want our graduates to not only be leaders in the business world but leaders in society. Problem solving in business becomes real change in the world,” he says.
The ODU MBA guides students to interact with policymaking to enact real change, since graduates may sit on boards of companies or nonprofits.
Drawing on ODU’s location in the Hampton Roads region of Coastal Virginia, MBA students will engage with pressing environmental challenges such as rising sea levels and flooding.
“Through a strategic mindset of problem solving, we want our graduates to be prepared to address major problems that have a real impact on the world,” he concludes.
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