Understanding the real problem

Successfully solving problems that arise in organisations is very, very difficult.

It's difficult because nine times out of ten the obvious solution to a problem is the wrong solution, because the problem itself is not really the problem.

To solve a vexing problem, you need to truly find and understand the problem - and understanding a complex problem that emerges from a messy, layered, unimaginably detailed system, can take a long time and requires enormous skills in insight and analysis.

Yes problems can be successfully solved with design, creativity and new technologies and it's often that these glamour stories are the ones that make it onto the front pages of popular business websites, but before proposals can be perused; the kernel of the issue needs to first be found.

A new software application is probably not going to solve your high staff turnover challenge because software alone doesn't address the real reason people don't want to stay any longer. A new sophisticated e-commerce platform with more features is not magically going to get customers to buy more from you online, because easier access to products that nobody wants is not going to make your sales graphs any different.

The real problem is hidden from plain sight; it is most probably lying deeper down in the bowels of the mess that we so casually refer to as 'the business'.  

The job then is to go hunting before going shopping. Firing the shot is the easy bit, finding the target in a vast wilderness is where the real work lies.