Joseph Gibbons
PHL/458 Creative Minds and Critical Thinking
January 16, 2014
Valvis Tinsley
Problem Solving Paper There are many steps in solving any problem at hand. People think that it is an easy process, unfortunately it’s not. A process was created in aiding in overcoming obstacles that may arise whenever an individual has to solve a problem. Solving any problem requires creativity in finding exactly what the challenge is in order to find a remedy to the problem. Throughout this paper, I will discuss the numerous stages in the creative process and select a personal challenge that I had to deal with throughout my life and venture through the creative process in order to solve the …show more content…
At times it can be very difficult to point out a problem because of fear of getting into trouble. Bringing the issue up of my guys getting sick to leadership was a bit of a challenge because the Marine Corps do not like weak leaders. Leadership expects professionalism out of the squad leaders and they must depend on squad leaders to make good sound decisions. When I looked at the issue at hand it was a no-brainer I knew I would probably look weak but I was making a smart decision. If I wouldn’t had made a decision to prevent my guys from getting sick there would have been a lapse in security and that was an issue that was unacceptable to me and my leadership. Expressing the problem to my leadership gave me the confidence to go through with the plan and feel like I did the right …show more content…
Now that we knew that going in and out of certain temperatures would make people sick we would know how to set up security positions with personnel that was available. The first three days didn’t go so well but after four days I noticed a dramatic difference in in the welfare of my Marines, including me. When I came to my leadership with the problem at hand and proposed the fix, they told me to really look at the problem and see if my plan would work. Upon investigation I concluded that the problem was fixed even though it took a little sacrificing. Fortunately, at the end of the day there was never a lapse in security and leadership was happy. Stage four- producing ideas: When coming up with a solution to the problem I checked with the leadership to make sure it was okay to implement my plan. Leadership told me not to over think the problem at hand, just come up with a quick fix to the problem considering we were only here for six months. Producing many ideas helped me have a choice of what I wanted to do. For an individual to come up with more than one idea gives an individual a broader choice, which makes solving a problem a whole lot easier. Being a leader is not hard to do; it’s about coming up with ideas, implementing them and leading from the front with integrity.