We don’t build cars for single use, so why build rockets like that?
How we define a problem dictates the solutions we see.
We don’t build cars that are sent to the museum after a trip, but we have always built rockets for single use.
We don’t call cars fully reusable but we are calling a new generation of rockets that, as they acquire capabilities to outlast a single trip to space.
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞.
When we defined the problem as sending a human to the moon, we ended up doing just that. When we think beyond flags and footprints to living in space, we start thinking reusable rockets, huge payloads, multiple-trip mileage, et cetera.
𝐒𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬?
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 1: 𝐑𝐞𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝.
This is a crucial first step before you can get your team to re-articulate the root problem.
𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩 2: 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.
This allows you to widen the frame and explore alternatives. Without this decoupling, the team is likely to get caught up in signaling how smart they are by jumping to problem-solving.
It is possible that after Step 2 you may decide that the cost of solving the root problem is too high and make a trade-off to solve a more urgent piece of the problem. But the process will leave you aware of the opportunity cost of your decision.
𝐓𝐢𝐩 1: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦? 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤. Otherwise, you’ll get as many versions of the problem as the number of business functions you ask.
𝐓𝐢𝐩 2: 𝐑𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. We are all rewarded for solving whatever problem we’re presented with. Why not have similar benefits for taking any problem thrown at us and checking if that’s the right problem to solve?
The speed with which you respond to a problem matters only if you’re aiming right. It is good practice to question the defaults you are operating under. For that, don’t let anyone define a problem for you.
