When people encounter problems, they immediately jump to finding a solution. It is as natural as breathing, and for small problems, this is the right step.
For tougher, more involved problems, jumping into a solution right away could lead to big issues down the road.
Tough problems are usually surface problems. They are caused by underlying issues that aren’t easily seen.
Before jumping into solution mode, it is best to take time and frame the problem first.
Let’s break it down.
If I have an hour to solve a problem, I will spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about the solution.
So said one of the greatest physicists, Albert Einstein.
Tough problems need a lot more discovery and discussion before a solution can be found. Tough problems need a tough framing session first.
To help you frame the problem, use the Problem Framing Blueprint. Follow these four steps:
- Explore
- Examine
- Engage
- Identify
Let’s break down each of these steps using a simple example from home:
My Netflix isn’t working.
Explore
The first step is to explore the problem space. Are there any additional issues that need to be looked at?
In this case of our problem at hand, the following questions might come up:
- Is Prime working?
- Is YouTube working?
- Are there all media services down?
Having established the base for exploration, the next step is to examine the root cause.
Examine
The second step is to examine the root cause of the main problem and any additional problems you may have encountered.
A good tool for this is to use the 5 Why’s questions. It works like this:
- State the main problem
- Ask why
- Answer the why
- Ask why again until you’ve done it 5 times.
Depending on the problem, there may not be a need to ask Why 5 times.
In our case, the 5 Why’s tool revealed that the Internet is not working. This discovery leads to the fourth step, engaging with the stakeholders.
Engage
During this step, you must engage with everyone who might be affected or causing the problem. The purpose is to gather as much information about probable causes and identify the steps to fixing the problem.
The people you engage with could be:
- Users
- Clients
- Customers
- Investors
- Friends
- Family
In the Netflix case, we first need to engage with:
- Our family members to ensure that the internet isn’t working for them.
- Customer service department of the internet provider
Engaging with the right people will help identify the next steps and create an action plan to resolve the problem.
Identify
The last step is identifying what we need to do to solve the problem and creating an action plan.
A useful tool to help with this is called Backcasting. Backcasting has three steps:
- Identify the future goal
- Identify milestones (long-term, medium-term, and short-term)
- For each milestone and time frame, identify specific actions
In our case, the following action plan can be created:
Goal: Watch Netflix Next Day
Long-Term Milestone (1 Day): Technician Fixes Internet Connection
Medium-Term Milestone (12 Hours): We watch using a phone hotspot
Short-Term Milestone (1 Hour): Book a technician in to fix the internet
Breaking down the goal into milestones will help you identify all the steps you must take to solve your problem and achieve your goal.
Today’s Action Steps
Here’s how you can act on this advice today:
- Pick a tough problem you’re wrestling
- Set aside two hours to think about the problem
- Go through the steps of the Problem Framing Blueprint
- Implement the steps and solve the problem.
Sounds simple enough, but it is a difficult process that will help you find permanent and temporary solutions to your tough problems.
Outro
When your next tough problem has you scratching your head, don’t fear it. You have the blueprint to solve it as effectively and efficiently as possible - The Problem Framing Blueprint.
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And that’s all for this week. See you next Monday.
P.S. I’d love to hear what challenges you are facing in your business. What can I write about to help you personally?
Reply to this email to let me know.