40+FAB Blog

Be POOR to become rich

This is not the usual tale of rags to riches or encouraging you to go down before you can leap up, but it is exploring a framework for making better decisions or solving niggling problems.

I have read quite a bit about the things that differentiate the poor from the rich and these two themes keep coming out. Firstly, they make better decisions, and secondly, they solve significant problems.

I came across a problem solving framework summarised in the acronym POOR, which has been used by many to accomplish thier objectives.

P – Problem: What is the problem you are trying to solve? There has to be a reasonable understanding of the challenges, and the better we can define them, the better the chances are of solving them. We have to get all the details of the problems we are trying to solve.

O – Options: what are the alternative ways forward? We need to come up with as many paths as possible to the solution we seek, this gives us a greater chance of coming up with a good one. You can read yesterdays blog on this – What are your options.

O – Outcomes: How will you know you have succeeded? When you look at the problem, what would success look like after you have dealt with it? If you are thirsty, you can drink water, but success for you in that situation might be to drink juice instead.

R – Recommendations: What is the most relevant course of action to take? Weigh the pros and cons of each option and decide on which one will most likely get you to your desired outcome, then plan actions to take on this.

This simple framework is used widely everyday by individuals and organisations to solve problems effectively. Give it a try for yourself and create the opportunities for you to move from POOR to rich.