The shy person's guide to solving problems at work

53 easy steps to solving a problem at work:

1. Go to church.
2. On Wednesday night.
3. In time to eat dinner.
4. Forget to pick up name tag when you walk in to the church.
5. Sit at a table full of people you know.
   
6. Leave an empty seat next to you at the dinner table.
7. Wait for gregarious church member to sit next to you.
8. Visit with gregarious church member.
9. Be appropriately impressed when he knows your full name without the aid of a name tag.
   
10. Tell the truth when he asks what kind of work you do.
11. Learn that he has a client with a business near yours.
12. Learn surprising information about business owner's business.
13. Realize that business owner might have a solution for a big problem at work.
14. Tell gregarious church member about the need at work.
15. Watch the wheels spin in gregarious church member's head.
16. Notice that it's time for chapel to start and say goodbye.
17. Forget to get gregarious church member's contact info.
18. Forget to give gregarious church member your contact info.
19. Go to chapel.
20. Go to class.
21. Go home.
22. Sleep.
23. Get up.
24. Get ready for work.
25. Start e-mail to boss at work about possible solution.
26. Realize boss will think you're crazy for e-mailing at 6:00 a.m. when you will be at work that day.
27. Delete e-mail.
28. Have long phone conversation with friend before work.
    
29. Go to work.
30. Meet with boss.
31. Forget to tell boss about conversation with gregarious church member.
32. Remember to tell boss about conversation during meeting at work.
33. Go to boss's office after meeting.
34. Tell boss about conversation.
35. Realize you don't know what kind of work gregarious church member does or what kind of client business owner is for him.
36. Guess what kind of work gregarious church member does.
    
37. Get boss's preference on how to proceed.
38. Contact minister from church to get contact info for gregarious church member.
39. Think about calling gregarious church member.
40. E-mail gregarious church member instead.
41. Answer phone when gregarious church member calls.
    
42. Find out gregarious church member talked to business owner last night on his way home from church.
43. Get contact info for business owner.
44. Give contact info to boss.
45. Talk to boss as she passes through your office and learn that she is on her way over to see business owner.
46. Listen to the pouring rain start while boss is walking to see business owner.
47. Wonder if you should take car to pick up boss.
48. Relax when rain stops.
49. Talk to colleague about employee appreciation luncheon.
50. Let boss interrupt conversation with colleague to report on meeting with business owner.
51. Find out that business owner may have just the solution you've been looking for for six months or more.
52. Join boss in celebratory dance.
53. Eat chocolate.
    

With one "random" conversation at dinner last night, we have likely solved a big problem at work in less than 24 hours. The solution was literally in our backyard!