When I was consulting with companies on Six Sigma and other problem solving methodologies one of the greatest challenges for team members was spending time in the initial stage of the process: Defining the Problem. They were consistently itchy to get moving to the next step in the problem solving methodology. Members would voice their frustration that they weren’t solving the problem by spending time further characterizing the fly in the ointment. It presented a paradox; on one hand thinking that moving on would get the problem solved and on the other the problem-in-need-of-a- solution was not clearly defined and understood. As a simple and fun illustration of people not necessarily having clarity relative to the real problem I’ll relate a story I sometimes told in my classes.
I was driving down the street one cold gray Pennsylvania winter day. It was at least the 10th day in a row of gray skies and I began to imagine myself on the beach in Belize. I was relaxing in a beach chair, drink in hand, watching the undulating movement of the ocean. Suddenly I realized the sound I was hearing was not a conch shell horn but a car horn. The noise brought me out of my reverie and I saw that the stoplight in front of me had turned red. I slammed on my brakes only to discover the brakes weren’t working properly causing me to slide into the intersection where I was hit by another car. Fortunately no one was hurt, but my car was totaled. So, I asked the class and I’ll ask you: What’s my problem?
Here are some of the typical answers I received:
Your brakes failed.
You were daydreaming.
You didn’t see the light change.
You’re a woman driver (we won’t even go there!)
You can’t tell the difference between a conch shell horn and a car horn.
Your husband should always drive.
You don’t have a car. BINGO. Not having a car is my problem; the other answers are possible causes or solutions to the problem.
Granted, this is simpler and less serious than the problems businesses tackle, but the premise is the same: prior to engaging in creative brainstorming techniques and using ideation tools make sure the problem definition is clear.
The book Getting to Innovation, How Asking the Right Questions Generates the Great Ideas your Company Needs by Arthur B. VanGundy reinforces this point. The author states that most people are conditioned to accept a problem as a given and immediately jump into a search for solutions. Yet, he continues, how a problem is framed determines the response to the problem. If we do a less than adequate job of defining or framing the problem, we are less likely to resolve it.
VanGundy offers techniques to generate the “right” questions to accurately define strategic challenges. Question Banks provide categories of strategic questions to collect data that help companies better understand their strategic terrain. This information provides the basis for his second technique Challenge Banks that generate questions to provide the accelerant to move beyond outdated approaches. He emphasizes (as does Tom Peters) that businesses need to ask more questions before generating ideas. Understanding the business’s present perceptual frames, which form the inherent biases that guide thinking, allows for the reframing of questions that can be molded into powerful tools to drive creativity and innovation.
Individuals and teams need to understand that everyone, including themselves, begins the problem solving and innovation process with a set of borders or assumptions that can limit their degree of innovative thinking. These assumptions or perceptions need to be surfaced, discussed and checked for accuracy. Douglas Adams, creator of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe said, “The hardest assumption to challenge is the one you don’t even know you’re making.” That’s where the power of a diverse team comes into play.
With a trusting, open atmosphere people can question and challenge what’s being said. It’s not always easy hearing your assumptions challenged. People can become defensive or shut down. But over time conventional thought patterns are on display ready to be transformed into innovative thought patterns.
This article first appeared in The Eastern Pennsylvania Business Journal in April 2008.