Last week I explained that to become a master trouble-shooter you must have a solid process and relevant knowledge.

And I used the Monkey Trap example to explain why process is the more important of the two, because it facilitates discovery.

Today, three things (they're emotions actually) that can derail the troubleshooting effort:

1. Ego

On any troubleshooting job your ego can come in for some rough treatment.

So a trouble-shooter with a big ego to defend is at a terrific disadvantage.

If you have a trumped-up opinion of yourself, your ability to recognize new facts as they emerge can be compromised.

And there really is no way to B.S. your way into looking good on a troubleshooting job, unless you're working with someone who doesn't know what they're doing either.

For this reason, most master trouble-shooters tend to be quiet and modest. If not quiet and modest at first, the job soon makes them this way.

2. Anxiety

This is the opposite of ego.

You're not sure what to do, or so sure you'll do it wrong, that you're afraid to do anything at all.

This is where PROCESS is so important.

The monkey caught in the Monkey Trap definitely has an anxiety problem.

But if his process is reliable, this will lead him to discover exactly what he needs to know: if he unclenches his fist, he can withdraw his hand.

3. Impatience

This usually results from under estimation of the time it will take to find the problem, or an external deadline - like in the monkey's case; the villager's are coming for him.

When troubleshooting, you never really know what's going to come up and very few of these gigs go according to plan.

Here again, process can help in avoiding time-wasting wrong turns and dead ends.

So long as the monkey is busy yanking on his arm, he's not only ineffective, he's also wasting valuable time.

But with the right frame of mind and the correct approach the trapped monkey CAN troubleshoot his way to freedom very quickly.

By Brendan  Casey