Member-only story
The problem that you’re wrestling with is seldom the real problem. Finding the root makes all the difference. Here are some ideas to help.
“Bob, can you come up with a solution to our wireless problem?” All prospective wireless clients ask me this. And my answer is always the same.
“Oh, I can definitely give you a solution to your problem, but you may not want to pay for it.”
At first, they think I’m talking about my fee, but I’m not. That’s usually the least expensive part. The problem is that they don’t want to face the real problem. A story may help to explain.
When I was Director of National System Development for one of America’s largest cellular carriers, our RF Engineers were located in cubicles just a few feet away from my office. We all knew each other pretty well, and they were comfortable talking to me about technical issues.
I was returning from the breakroom with a cup of coffee, headed to my office with its wall-to-wall windows. As I meandered through the cubicle maze, I noticed that Pablo (not his real name, of course) was staring intently at his computer screen. I stopped and asked what he was concentrating on so hard. He said, “I have to come up with a new channel plan for this city.” We were in Seattle, but the market he was responsible for was in West Texas. Then he asked…