So, what's the problem?

Albert Einstein once said that if he was given one hour to save the planet, he would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute solving it. He was a wise man – certainly a lot wiser than any of us who work in professional services, because we spend very little time, if any, properly defining the problem.

We tend to assume the problem is self-evident and jump right in to trying to solve it. The problem, of course, is that a poorly defined problem will invariably lead to a poorly defined solution. Our new products, processes and innovations suffer as a result of our lack of rigor. We miss opportunities, waste resources and end up pursuing initiatives that are not aligned with our strategies. How many times have you seen a project go down one path only to realise, in hindsight, that it should have gone down another? How many times have you seen a program deliver what looks like a great outcome only to discover that it can’t be implemented, or addresses the wrong problem? Like Einstein, we need to spend more time getting a good understanding of the problem before we try to solve it.

One of the most important things to do is to ‘size’ the problem correctly. If you define your problem too narrowly, your solutions will be limited and lacking in imagination. If you define your problem too broadly, your solutions may be impractical or irrelevant to your business. The key is to move past what might be called the ‘presenting problem’ i.e. the obvious one, and on to the underlying problem i.e. the real one.

The first step is to spend plenty of time accurately examining and clearly explaining the situation you are faced with. That means understanding the impact, consequences and emotions it is generating. If all we do is focus on fixing a very specific, near-term problem, then we miss an opportunity to address underlying strategic issues. If we rush toward a solution because we are afraid of getting criticized for dragging the chain, then we reduce the chances of any solution being successful. We need to invest in having that in-depth understanding of the situation so we can distill the problem to its simplest form. Once we have examined and clearly explained the situation we can put together something like this:

“The problem that we are trying to solve is…”

Then, and this is the critical part, someone needs to ask, “Why is that a problem?” If the answer is another problem, then we have moved beyond the ‘presenting problem’ and into deeper territory. But don’t stop there. Ask again, “Why is that a problem?” Keep asking it until you land on the source of all the problems identified. Then, and only then, are you ready to start contemplating a solution. 

The reality is how we choose to define the problem has a direct impact on the proposed solution. We must become better at asking the right questions so we can tackle the right problems. Think about the projects you are driving and ask yourself if you are clear on the problem you are trying to solve – you might be surprised by the answer.