For real solutions, don't use that blurry word

By Bill Buchanan

Some bright co-workers will look at me suspiciously after they read this, but I bear their raised eyebrows for the sake of the common campus welfare to offer this advice:

Beware of the word "solutions." The word seems innocent and flexible, but it's often baffling, and typical of the stunted comprehension that jargon creates. Try not to use it. Or if you do, be sure to explain what you mean.

You've seen it happen. A service or a procedure is sometimes called a solution. The word sounds helpful because it focuses on the outcome, and focusing on the outcome sounds open and positive. You have a problem, and someone has the solution.

The problem is, "solution" provides only a partial definition. It's merely a down payment on communication. Just what kind of solution are we talking about? The range of possible answers is pretty big.

If I'm out here on Chiles Road and need to get to the Silo in 15 minutes, I won't be all that satisfied if someone offers a "solution for my mobility challenge." I would need more details. Are they advising me to run? Offering a ride? Tossing me the keys to a 1992 Ford? Is there an "A" parking permit on that Ford? Is the Ford really a Lamborghini?

Obviously, that's an exaggeration. But the point is, details matter, and "solution" by itself doesn't convey details. It says something will work. It doesn't say how.

If a friend strolled by your desk around noon and offered you a hunger solution, you'd probably ask, "You mean lunch?" If he didn't know--if he answered, well, "I could be offering a sandwich, or maybe an IV hookup, or perhaps an appetite suppressant"--you'd think, "Hmm, this needs to get a little more specific."

Obviously, another exaggeration, but technically, each of the choices is a solution. That's how distended the word is.

I'm not writing just to complain, so here's my suggested alternative:

Whe n you're tempted to use the word, identify and explain what kind of solution you're offering. A new program? An improved procedure? A different way of organizing the work?

Then talk about that program, procedure or new way of working. Tell your listener some of the important, defining details. Get specific, and unless you're talking in a very broad sense, downplay the word "solution."

On its own, it just doesn't say enough.

Bill Buchanan is a senior writer and editor in Information and Educational Technology, the main campus tech department. The views in this column, especially his crabby regard of "solution," are entirely his own. Solve your need to contact him by writing to wrbuchanan@ucdavis.edu.