Let's Try Being More Problem-Oriented
Before solving a problem, make sure you're solving the right one.
This is an excerpt from my upcoming book: By Design. Please enjoy and subscribe to get on the pre-release email list.
In business, everyone’s always looking to understand the output. Investments must have a clearly defined ROI. In pursuit of that return, it’s easy to lose sight of why we’re doing what we’re doing. I remember multiple instances in my career where I was told: “We need to be more solutions-oriented”. Coming to the right solution is essential, but so is finding the right problem.
In Design, the Define perspective is about problem definition, not solution definition. Design Thinking says that before we can know what it is we’re building, we have to understand the problem we’re solving fully.
Clearly define the problem, then choose areas of exploration that could yield solutions.
Time spent on problem definition can feel unproductive because the output is clarity, which is not easily measured. And it requires resources to investigate and articulate the problems we face. Define is the perspective that allows organizations to deal with ambiguity. There’s tons of value to be captured by solving ambiguous business problems. Humans have a unique ability to create abstract concepts and use them to model the world around us. However, it’s also in our nature to ask: “What’s the point?” If we spend too much time thinking abstractly, work never gets done.
But let’s back up. I would hate to be ambiguous about ambiguity. So what are ambiguous business problems? Ambiguous problems have some combination of the following characteristics:
Ambiguous problems…
Do not have a clear set of solutions to choose from.
Do not have clear criteria or metrics to evaluate solutions with.
Do not have a clear owner.
One of the goals of the Define perspective is to eliminate this ambiguity. However, removing ambiguity is not the same as solving the problem. A well-defined problem has an owner, criteria or metrics of success, and a set of solutions to explore. It does not prescribe a particular solution. This perspective is about choosing the best problems to solve and shouldn’t involve an in-depth discussion of solutions.
The leap from being solutions-oriented to problem-oriented is large, so let’s talk about why this is important. Business success requires real output with measurable value. Leaders have to be able to evaluate opportunities based on comparing their inputs (costs) and outputs (benefits). However, businesses too closely associate their success with the end product they sell. In reality, the value that companies create is tied to solving a problem for their customers, not to providing a particular product. Customers, problems, and the world as a whole can change. When those changes occur, they can make previously successful products obsolete. Whole industries have disappeared as a result of these kinds of changes.
Define Problems, Not Solutions
In the early 2000s, Blockbuster Video was a massive corporation with over 9,000 retail locations. By 2010, they filed for bankruptcy with over a billion dollars in debt. How did a successful product like Blockbuster go from owning a space to going out of business in less than ten years? It was not because people stopped watching movies at home. Blockbuster solved a simple problem: people want to watch movies at home without buying every film. Their solution was a chain of brick-and-mortar retail locations where people could rent DVDs and tapes. For the life of Blockbuster, it was an excellent solution to the problem, and they found success.
However, when Netflix began delivering DVDs through the mail, Blockbuster didn’t adapt. Why didn’t they change? Blockbuster had invested so heavily in their retail operations that they couldn’t imagine solving the problem in any other way. Blockbuster focused on the solution: a chain of retail stores with hard copies of movies that could be taken and returned. Netflix focused on the problem: people want to watch movies at home without needing to buy every film. It’s no wonder Blockbuster has entirely disappeared while Netflix thrived.
Netflix focused on solving their problem in the best way possible, not by optimizing the DVD-mailing service it had created. Imagine if Netflix had defined itself as a DVD delivery company. They would never have made the investments to become the largest streaming company in the world. Instead, their focus on delivering movies to people at home made streaming an obvious choice.
Blockbuster was solving the wrong problem: how can we create a valuable retail store where people rent movies? In the long term, the problem had nothing to do with retail stores or even with movie rentals. There was no way for Blockbuster to succeed with its framing of the problem. We have to focus on the problem we solve for our customers and orient towards it no matter the cost.
Dedicating time and energy to defining a problem can sometimes feel either too simplistic or too philosophical. Without incorporating the Design perspective of Define, modern business problems might sound like the following:
“We need to increase our sales next quarter.”
“Let’s build a mobile app to engage our on-the-go customers.”
“Our competitors have better tech than us; let’s integrate more tech into our platform.”
“Our product has to delight our customers.”
On the surface, there’s nothing wrong with these goals. And there are situations where each of them might be an appropriate solution for a particular company. Unfortunately, business strategy sometimes doesn’t go any deeper than these types of goals. None of the above are framed as problems to be solved. They’re a combination of metrics and solutions that fail to define any actual problems.
In Design, the Define perspective is tightly related to strategy. Increasing sales isn’t a strategy; it’s a metric-driven goal. Building a mobile app isn’t a strategy; it’s a solution to an unnamed problem. Adding technology because competitors are doing it isn’t a strategy; it’s following what others are doing in the industry. Delighting customers isn’t a strategy; it’s a generic principle of sound products. None of these statements define what problem is being solved.
It’s easy for business leaders to get wrapped up in statements like those above because they are easy to understand and implement. But they lack the nuance and insight necessary to drive a business forward. In order to create successful strategies, we have to start with clarity around the problems we’re solving.