Anyone Can Spot Problems, Now How About Some Solutions

Shortly after he was hired as assistant sales manager Phil ran up against a problem that he didn't know how to handle.  He wrote up a report about the problem and tossed it on the sales managers desk before leaving work.  In the morning Phil was called into the managers office.  When Phil entered the office he saw his manager crawling around the floor and looking under things and around his desk.  "Did you misplace something?" Phil said  "You're an young smart go-getter," said the sales manager, "and I know that you'd never send me a problem and not include a list of possible solutions.  My guess is that your solutions must have fallen off my desk and they must be around here somewhere, right?"  Phil was embarrassed and understood the managers message loud and clear.  Today, years later Phil will still not report a problem without first coming up with a few solutions.