People are fascinated with getting ahead and being successful in their personal and professional lives. Generally, this has to do with their ability to solve problems, identify obstacles in their path, and figure out how to move past them. Regardless of profession, each of us is on the hook to solve problems ranging from the trivial to the intractable. But “problem” is an overused word. We assign the label to almost every imperfect situation we encounter, then deal with all of them in roughly the same way: either we avoid them or tackle them head-on. Then we wonder what happened when, lo and behold, our kneejerk “solutions” turn against us. For all our efforts to conquer the skill, for all the value we place on those who do it well, we too often ignore a critical truth about problem-solving: problems are not always problems. More accurately, there is a range of problem types, and a range of different strategies appropriate for handling them. We just can’t tell the difference.
14. The Problem is Not the Problem
#sxrackspace
Difficulty to solve
Scope of impact
Trivial Brutal
Small Epic
15. The Problem is Not the Problem
#sxrackspace
Difficulty to solve
Scope of impact
Trivial Brutal
Small Epic
Issue
Problem
Predicament
Quagmire
Potential!
Disaster
ELE
Dilemma
16. The Problem is Not the Problem
#sxrackspace
By definition, problems can be solved
Difficulty to solve
Scope of impact
Trivial Brutal
Small Epic
Issue
Problem
Predicament
Quagmire
Potential!
Disaster
ELE
Dilemma
17. The Problem is Not the Problem
#sxrackspace
Dilemmas require you to choose
Difficulty to solve
Scope of impact
Trivial Brutal
Small Epic
Issue
Problem
Predicament
Quagmire
Potential!
Disaster
ELE
Dilemma
18. The Problem is Not the Problem
#sxrackspace
Issues may need to be addressed
Difficulty to solve
Scope of impact
Trivial Brutal
Small Epic
Issue
Problem
Predicament
Quagmire
Potential!
Disaster
ELE
Dilemma
19. The Problem is Not the Problem
#sxrackspace
Predicaments are problems that!
can’t be solved, by definition
Difficulty to solve
Scope of impact
Trivial Brutal
Small Epic
Issue
Problem
Predicament
Quagmire
Potential!
Disaster
ELE
Dilemma
20. The Problem is Not the Problem
#sxrackspace
Quagmires are predicaments that!
get worse as you try to solve them!
Difficulty to solve
Scope of impact
Trivial Brutal
Small Epic
Issue
Problem
Predicament
Quagmire
Potential!
Disaster
ELE
Dilemma
21. The Problem is Not the Problem
#sxrackspace
Difficulty to solve
Scope of impact
Potential disasters are scary
Trivial Brutal
Small Epic
Issue
Problem
Predicament
Quagmire
Potential!
Disaster
ELE
Dilemma
22. The Problem is Not the Problem
#sxrackspace
Extinction level events, if they !
come to pass, end it all.
Difficulty to solve
Scope of impact
Trivial Brutal
Small Epic
Issue
Problem
Predicament
Quagmire
Potential!
Disaster
ELE
Dilemma
23. The Problem is Not the Problem
#sxrackspace
Difficulty to solve
Scope of impact
Solve
Trivial Brutal
Small Epic
Issue
Problem
Predicament
Quagmire
Potential!
Disaster
ELE
Dilemma
24. The Problem is Not the Problem
#sxrackspace
Solve Manage
Difficulty to solve
Scope of impact
Trivial Brutal
Small Epic
Issue
Problem
Predicament
Quagmire
Potential!
Disaster
ELE
Dilemma
25. The Problem is Not the Problem
#sxrackspace
Solve Manage Mind
Difficulty to solve
Scope of impact
Trivial Brutal
Small Epic
Issue
Problem
Predicament
Quagmire
Potential!
Disaster
ELE
Dilemma
26. The Problem is Not the Problem
#sxrackspace
Solve Manage Mind Plan
Difficulty to solve
Scope of impact
Trivial Brutal
Small Epic
Issue
Problem
Predicament
Quagmire
Potential!
Disaster
ELE
Dilemma
28. The Problem is Not the Problem
#sxrackspace
Solve Manage Mind Plan
START
HERE
Less effort, !
more impact
Difficulty to solve
Scope of impact
Trivial Brutal
Small Epic
Issue
Problem
Predicament
Quagmire
Potential!
Disaster
ELE
Dilemma
29. The Problem is Not the Problem
#sxrackspace
Solve Manage Mind Plan
Difficulty to solve
Scope of impact
Trivial Brutal
Small Epic
Issue
Problem
Predicament
Quagmire
Potential!
Disaster
ELE
Dilemma
WORK
ABOVE THE LINE
Things down here are lower impact
30. #sxrackspace
There’s no sense in being precise
when you don’t even know
what you’re talking about.
John von Neumann