The problem with problems
The most controversial chapter of my book Innovating is certainly The Problem with Problems.
I have had so many comments about it! Some people think I am distracting from the real focus - solving problems. Others understand better what I am trying to say, but they struggle to make my approach work for them. Some people do wonder, Have we been thinking about Innovation all wrong?
Innovation as problem-solving is not only an attitude, for most of us it is almost definitional. To innovate is to identify issues and fix them. But I have seen that such a perspective can severely limit the possibilities for breakthrough ideas.
While addressing known problems is a reasonable goal, I would say innovation requires first understanding users, their motivations, and the frustrations that prevent them from achieving their ambitions.
The limits of problem-solving
When innovators focus too narrowly on solving predefined problems, it restricts the solution space to incremental improvements. This problem-centric view makes it challenging to rethink things more fundamentally and explore creative approaches that lie outside conventional boundaries.
For example, supposed solutions to the problem of dieting - an almost constant theme in lifestyle blogs - tends to produce solutions like new dieting apps or meal delivery services. But the broader concept of intuitive eating does not start from a problem, but rather explores the pleasure - and sometimes the distress - of eating, becoming aware internal body cues rather than external food rules like diet plans. If we go further into people’s motivations and frustrations around food, we may discover opportunities related to sustainable farming practices, ethical ingredients sourcing, or technology that reduces waste, all of which may change our relationship to food in our life, rather than focussing on a simplistic problem.
Understanding users and their ambitions
To go beyond superficial problem-solving, innovators need to invest time into studying users' underlying motivations, aspirations and values. This empathetic understanding can reveal what really matters to users and where innovative solutions can have an unexpected but significant impact.
In business, it’s also crucial to understand the craft – the heritage of skills and knowledge – that gives context to users' daily activities. Their craft often defines how they perceive work and gives meaning to their efforts. Thinking through the guiding principles and ambitions of their craft can suggest new directions.
For example, an innovator who studies the craft of healthcare professionals - not just their daily tasks - may discover opportunities to increase their fulfillment and autonomy through tools that reduce unsatisfying bureaucratic burdens. This allows physicians to recenter on patient relationships and holistic care, enriching their work, which could be what they really want to do.
Identifying frustrations over problems
Rather than merely fixing surface-level problems, innovators should strive to identify the deeper frustrations that prevent users from thriving and achieving their goals. These frustrations reflect fundamental gaps between the current state and the user’s desired ambitions. The emphasis is on the destination not the roadblock, so we leave open the opportunity to find other paths.
I’d be interested to see what you think. In my innovation workshops, when we get past this stage, really interesting things start to happen.
And yes, you can buy (and review please!) the book here …
In whitewater sports, you never ever look at the boulders that the river flows around. You know they are there, but you keep your focus on the paths flowing through the boulder field -- on the sequences of moves that could compose various ways through, various experiences you might want to have. The boulders are set-pieces that constrain the possible solutions, of course, but every old guide will tell you that your brain cannot find the flowing path while your eyes are fixated on the boulders.
Start with a narrative of aspirational experience. A story. A good one that activates people emotionally. As you proceed to make that story come to life, be aware of relevant constraints, and deal with the ones that you must in order to make the narrative experience real. Of course there may come a time when you must focus intently on a problem or boulder directly, but this is not where you start. Because this is not actually the heart of innovative thinking. The larger emotive story is. My 0.02.