The Problem with Problems

Written by Anthony Demangone

In the quest to innovate and improve, never forget to answer an important question.

What problem are you trying to fix?

Until you know that, I'd tap the breaks. This comes from an article (HBR.org) by Greg Satell.

How well is the problem defined? When Steve Jobs, who was a master at defining a clear product vision, set out to build the iPod, he framed the problem as "1,000 songs in my pocket." That simple phrase defined not only the technical specifications, but the overall approach. Unfortunately, some problems, like how to create a viable alternative to fossil fuels, aren't so easy to delineate. So your innovation strategy will have to adapt significantly depending on how well the problem can be framed.

So when your team presents you with a plan to overhaul something, use that magic, focusing question.

What problem are we trying to fix?  

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NAFCU members, please consider signing up for NAFCU's new newsletter.  The Beltway Buzz provides an inside look at the latest in credit union legislation. Written by my colleague, NAFCU’s Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler, you’ll get the insider's view of Washington.  To top it off, Brad is a wonderful writer, great dad, excellent colleague, and a terrible college football fan. 

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Speaking of problems (or preventing them)...men, there's still time to act!  Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.  Especially to one specific someone. 

Comments

[Ken Schroeder, MBCP, MBCI, VP-Business Continuity]

Easy question to ask, difficult question to answer. Varying points of view, past histories and experiences, personalities, and both organizational and personal goals combine to make answer the question difficult.

I reminds me of the Hindu parable of the Six Blind Men & the Elephant
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Six Blind Men & the Elephant
A Hindu Parable

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a wall!"

The Second, feeling of the tusk
Cried, "Ho! what have we here,
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!"

The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up he spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a snake!"

The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee:
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he;
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!"

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!"

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope.
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a rope!"

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

Moral:
So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen.

(From John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887).