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,
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.
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.