Is this Problem Really Worth Fixing?

Credit to the late, great, Charles Schulz, whose genius I appreciate more and more as the years go by.  Lucy and Linus' situation perfectly reflects what sometimes happens in a company.

I originally entitled this "Does Your Team Really Want to Improve", but upon reflection, that was a bad title.  It implies that people should fix a problem, but they don't want to fix it.  That's not always the case.

Instead, I opted for "Is this problem really worth fixing". I think that title more accurately reflects the situation when a problem is identified.  

The reality is that some problems just aren't serious enough to fix. Some may need fixing, but the cure is worse than the disease.  Just learning to live with it might be the best choice.  

However, the comic strip teaches us more than that.  Linus rushes to the aid of Lucy, "helping" her in every way possible.  But alas, she didn't really want any help.

This happens in company management too.  Example:  Someone in production grumbles about a challenge facing the production team.  Someone in sales hears it and sincerely tries to help the situation.  But the production team is like Lucy.  They didn't really want a fix.  They just wanted to grumble a bit, and they aren't invested at all in a solution. So time is wasted on a problem that really wasn't worth fixing.  

Of course this isn't the case all of the time.  Some problems are very real and need to be addressed.  As a manager, acknowledge complaints and announced problems, but follow it up with a serious question "Is this problem really worth fixing?"

If the answer is no, you've saved some time.  Now you can go read more comic strips!