People are uncomfortable with multiple solutions to a single problem because.
It will put them out of business or out of the control loop. Having the solution to a problem puts you in control. If there is a problem that someone is having and I can fix or solve it then I am needed. It makes me feel good and puts me in a good light even if it’s temporary.

Take my work for instance. I am a plumber and when someone has a shower full of human waste and need their main line snaked I am a hero till they get the bill. I have the solution and for the moment they need me. If they could find another way to do the same thing i.e. do it themselves they wouldn’t call me or need me. Most of the time when I show up they have plunged, snaked and put drain-o down the line. Even though they are in an uncomfortable situation they have a smile on their face when I show up.

When I was on the Fire Department and we came on a wreck or injury. People assumed that it would be all taken care of. We came in with confidence and some knowledge of how to help the situation. The people we were there for believed that we were the solution to the problem so everyone got out of the way. You never have all the answers but if you are the only solution then people put their trust in you.

Both of these instances are the same. Whether Plumbing or Fire Fighting you go into uncertain circumstances. You want people to think or suppose that you have the answer, the only answer for the problem. We come in as the single solution to the problem and throw our answers.

Today we have the problem with a single solution. The BP oil spill. The issue is who is in charge and what the solution is. When you don’t have a single person in charge with a for sure answer then it makes everyone nervous. We have the white house possible in charge. We have the Coast Guard maybe at times. We think it is BP but they are having a squabble among themselves.

http://www.newsherald.com/articles/spill-84775-charge-depends.html

All problems have more than one answer. The construction trade says there is more than one way to skin a cat. BP and the Coast Guard are arguing who is the right person to be in control. Pull the cap off, put it back on. People from all over the US have sent in ways that could have fixed the problem. If BP had used one of them it would have undermined their authority.

Right or wrong is only a perception many times. Is someone in charge and do they have the only answer. This makes us feel good so we can go about our lives without an inconvenience.