What's Your Problem?

1. Solving the Right Problem is Your Superpower.

The way you frame a problem determines which solutions you come up with.

Avoid wasted effort. We often rush to solve problems without deeply considering if we're tackling the right problem. This leads to significant waste of time, money, and energy. Imagine upgrading a slow elevator's motor when tenants simply need a distraction like mirrors.

Reframing is key. Reframing means shifting how you see a problem, often leading to radically better solutions. It's a powerful skill, backed by decades of research, that improves decision-making, fosters original ideas, and enhances overall effectiveness. Despite its power, most smart, talented people haven't learned it.

Upgrade your thinking. This book introduces the "rapid reframing method," a quick, proven approach to tackle problems in any context. By mastering reframing, you'll find creative solutions, stop wasting resources, make better decisions, and future-proof your career against automation. It's about upgrading the world's ability to solve problems.

2. Shift Your Perspective: Explore or Break the Frame.

By rethinking what the problem was, Werdelin and his team identified a new, more effective approach.

Two reframing modes. Reframing isn't a single action but a spectrum of approaches. You can either "explore the frame" by delving deeper into the initial problem statement, or "break the frame" by stepping away completely to find an entirely different understanding. Both can lead to breakthroughs.

Exploring the frame. BarkBox, facing the problem of too few shelter dog adoptions, explored the frame to find a "hidden" access problem. They created BarkBuddy, a dating app for dogs, making adoption easier and generating immense impact for a small investment. This was about finding an overlooked aspect within the existing problem.

Breaking the frame. Lori Weise, working with shelter dogs, broke the frame entirely. Instead of focusing on adoption, she reframed the problem as helping poor families keep their pets. Her "shelter intervention program" addressed poverty, not adoption, saving more dogs at a lower cost by preventing them from entering the system in the first place.

3. Start by Framing the Problem, Not Just Solving It.

The problem is that the elevator is slow.

Define the problem. Before any solution-finding, explicitly state the problem. Write it down as a full sentence, "The problem is that…", and list all involved stakeholders. This simple act creates clarity, mental distance, and a tangible anchor for discussion, preventing premature jumps to solutions.

Recognize problem types. Problems manifest in various forms, each requiring a different diagnostic approach:

• Ill-defined messes: Vague pain points like "Our culture is the problem."
• Hard-to-reach goals: Clear objectives without a clear path, like "We need to become the market leader."
• Solutions in search of a problem: Someone's beloved idea, like "We should build an app!"

Review your framing. Once framed, quickly review the problem statement. Ask: Is it true? Are there self-imposed limitations? Is a solution baked in? Is it clear? With whom is the problem located? Are strong emotions present? Are there false trade-offs? This initial scrutiny helps avoid common pitfalls and sets the stage for effective reframing.

4. Always Look Outside the Initial Frame for Hidden Clues.

Everything within the frame is carefully scrutinized. Everything outside the frame, however, receives zero attention.

Beware narrow framing. Our subconscious mind often draws a narrow frame around a problem, causing us to miss crucial elements outside it. The classic New York–Le Havre ship problem illustrates this: most people miss six ships because they only count those encountered during the journey, not those already at sea.

Zoom out before diving in. Expert problem solvers deliberately "zoom out" to examine the larger situation. They ask: What's missing? What elements aren't we considering? This prevents getting trapped by visible details. Tactics include:

• Beyond your expertise: Involve outsiders (like an HR exec for a finance problem) to challenge your "hammer."
• Prior events: Look at what happened before the problem became apparent (e.g., a teenager's fight linked to skipping breakfast).
• Hidden influences: Uncover underlying factors (e.g., the marshmallow test's link to socioeconomic status, or a bank's old office building affecting recruitment).
• Nonobvious aspects: Consider overlooked properties (e.g., a light bulb's heat, or Disney parking attendants using arrival times).

Challenge assumptions. This strategy helps uncover causal factors, overlooked stakeholders, or non-traditional uses of resources. It's about actively seeking what your initial mental model might have excluded.

5. Challenge Your Goals: Are You Chasing the Right Objective?

Are we pursuing the right goal? And is there a better goal to pursue?

Goals are not immune. We often accept goals—like "beating the competition" or "getting a promotion"—without questioning their ultimate purpose. This "problem-as-obstacle" mindset focuses on how to overcome hurdles, rather than if the goal itself is the best path.

Clarify higher-level goals. Map out your goals hierarchically: Why is this goal important? What will it help you achieve? Mateo's team, tasked with cutting response time in half, realized their higher-level goal was reducing the time for the business to make database changes. This led to a direct-access interface, vastly exceeding the original objective.

Question obvious and sub-goals. Even seemingly good goals like "faster" or "more authentic" can be misleading. Stephen Hawking, for instance, asked Intel to make his communication system slower to allow for multitasking. Examine sub-goals too, as they often contain flawed assumptions. For example, "higher salary" might be a subgoal for "paying for college," which could be achieved through other means.

6. Seek "Bright Spots": Learn from Where the Problem Doesn't Exist.

When do we not have the problem? Are there any bright spots?

Focus on positive exceptions. Instead of solely analyzing what's going wrong, look for situations where the problem is absent or less severe. Tania and Brian Luna realized their fights were caused by being sleepy and hungry, not differing values, after a smooth breakfast discussion. This led to their "Ten O'Clock Rule."

Find clues in the positive. Bright spots can be found in your own past, within your peer group, or in entirely different industries. Ask:

• Past successes: When did the problem not occur, or was it less severe? (e.g., a law firm's long-term project succeeded when associates were involved).
• Positive outliers: Who in your group is handling the problem well? (e.g., Argentine schools with high retention rates despite poverty).
• Other industries: Who else deals with this type of problem? (e.g., Pfizer's cross-cultural communication problem solved by hiring from the hospitality industry).

Overcome negativity bias. We are wired to focus on what's broken. The bright spots strategy deliberately flips this script, directing attention to what's working. Broadcasting your problem widely, like DSM did for their glue, can also connect you to unexpected bright spots.

7. Look in the Mirror: Acknowledge Your Own Contribution.

Is it possible that my (or our) own behavior is, on some level, contributing to the problem?

Self-reflection is crucial. We often overlook our own role in problems, instinctively blaming external factors or others' character flaws (the "fundamental attribution error"). Like drivers blaming a "hedge that sprang up," we tell stories that conveniently omit our agency.

Tactics for self-awareness:

• Explore your contribution: Ask, "What is my part in creating this problem?" Avoid "blame" and focus on "contribution," which is more forward-looking and recognizes systemic factors. John, a factory manager, asked, "How did the company fail you?" to foster open dialogue.
• Scale the problem down: Resist framing problems at a level where you feel powerless. Even "wicked problems" like corruption can have actionable solutions at your level, as Ukrainian civil servants showed by outsourcing medicine purchasing.
• Get an outside view: Develop "external self-awareness"—how others see you. Ask a trusted friend, "What impression do people get of me, and how does it differ from who I really am?" For corporate issues, neutral outsiders like Chris Dame (who uncovered incentive problems behind software non-adoption) can reveal hidden truths.

Embrace discomfort. Confronting your own role can be painful, but it's often the most liberating path to solutions. The best problem solvers actively seek this discomfort, knowing it promises progress.

8. Master Perspective-Taking: Understand Others' Worlds.

Perspective taking is the cognitive equivalent: investing mental energy in thinking carefully about what it might be like to be in the other person’s shoes.

Beyond empathy. Perspective-taking is more than just feeling what others feel (empathy); it's understanding their context, worldview, and motivations. Our "other-people simulator" is often crude, leading to misjudgments.

Ensure it happens. The biggest mistake is not doing it at all. Actively invest mental energy in understanding each stakeholder. The "barometer poster" failed because it focused on the sender's needs ("Help us reach our goal") rather than the receiver's.

Escape your own emotions. Use "anchoring and adjustment": first, imagine yourself in their shoes (anchoring), then adjust for how they might differ from you. The "pilot launch poster" failed by assuming everyone shared the team's pioneer enthusiasm. PfizerWorks succeeded by anchoring in users' "felt problems" and using social proof.

Look for reasonable explanations. When others' actions seem irrational, assume good intentions. Ask: Could there be an innocent explanation? What if they're not stupid or malicious? Rosie Yakob discovered her client's insistence on a "viral video" was tied to a bonus structure, reframing it from irrationality to a systems problem.

9. Validate Your Problem: Test Assumptions Before Building Solutions.

Before you test your solution, you should make sure to test your problem.

Test the problem, not just the solution. Don't fall in love with a solution before confirming the problem's validity. Kevin's dream of a gelato store was crushed by Ashley Albert's simple test: visiting existing stores revealed it wasn't a problem needing solving. This saved Kevin years of wasted effort.

Methods for problem validation:

• Describe to stakeholders: Like FBI negotiator Chris Voss, accurately label their problems. Steve Blank's "problem meetings" for startups aim to see if your framing resonates with customers. Cisco's Startup Cisco team validated a refinery problem by simply asking high-level executives if they had it.
• Get outsiders to help: Outsiders, less emotionally attached, can provide objective validation. Georgina de Rocquigny helped a consulting firm embrace their "hands-on" strength after client interviews revealed it was a differentiator, not a weakness.
• Devise a hard test: Managed by Q, a cleaning service, validated their problem by asking potential clients for a down payment. Only 1 of 20 residential boards signed up, but 18 of 25 office managers did, revealing the true market.
• Pretotyping the solution: If testing is easy and risk-free, simulate the product to see if clients will buy it. BarkBox's team "pretotyped" a dog-themed wine stopper online, selling one in 73 minutes without ever building it.

Avoid false momentum. Testing solutions can create a momentum that makes it harder to challenge the underlying problem. Validate early to ensure your efforts are directed correctly.

10. Reframing is a Continuous Loop, Not a Single Step.

Problem framing is similar to ABC checks in that you don’t just assess the problem once—you have to do it at regular intervals.

Iterative process. Reframing isn't a one-time event but a continuous loop: Frame, Reframe, Move Forward. Just as an EMT like Scott McGuire regularly reassesses a patient's ABCs (Airway, Breathing, Circulation), you must revisit your problem diagnosis.

Why revisit?

• Problems evolve: Even a correct initial diagnosis can become outdated as situations change.
• New information: Further action or experimentation often reveals new data, requiring a re-evaluation of the problem.
• Avoid freezing context: Defining a problem too rigidly can blind you to new possibilities during implementation.

Ways to ensure check-ins:

• Schedule regularly: Integrate reframing check-ins into your calendar based on project "clock speed."
• Assign a role: Designate someone to monitor the problem framing and schedule follow-ups.
• Create routines: Incorporate reframing into existing team meetings or agile stand-ups.
• Practice the mindset: With enough practice, "double vision" (holding both solution and problem in mind) becomes an automatic habit.

Embrace flexibility. A swift initial reframing, followed by action and regular check-ins, is often more effective than a prolonged upfront analysis.

11. Address Resistance by Understanding Underlying Reasons.

It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!

Resistance is common. When helping others, you'll encounter resistance to reframing due to lack of trust, perceived competence, status differences, or outright denial. This makes challenging existing problem understandings difficult.

Overcoming process resistance:

• Formal frameworks: Use tools like the reframing canvas to lend legitimacy.
• Educate in advance: Share articles or books on reframing.
• Share stories: The "slow elevator" or other client anecdotes can illustrate the value.
• Frame the need: Appeal to their "promotion focus" (gains) or "prevention focus" (avoiding losses).
• Manage emotions: Acknowledge frustration, explain the iterative nature to balance "closure-avoidant" and "closure-seeking" tendencies.
• Invite outsiders: Bring in "boundary spanners" (like Marc Granger's assistant, Charlotte) who understand the context but offer fresh perspectives.
• Gather problem statements: Show a group their diverse initial framings to highlight the need for discussion.

Dealing with denial:

• Self-check: First, ask, "Could I be wrong?" Client resistance might signal overlooked information.
• Reframe denial: Is their denial about irrationality, or hidden incentives (like Rosie Yakob's client needing a viral video for a bonus)?
• Use data: Let evidence speak for itself (e.g., Chris Dame's video of the CEO jamming a floppy disk into an exhaust vent).
• Embrace their logic: Find inconsistencies in their reasoning, as Steve de Shazer did with the paranoid CIA veteran.
• Strategic solutions: Sometimes, you might build their solution alongside yours, or even let them fail once (if the cost is low) to build trust for future collaboration.

12. Cultivate Multiple Hypotheses to Combat Confirmation Bias.

There is no escaping the propensity to love an only child.

Beware the "only child" theory. Geologist Thomas C. Chamberlin warned against falling in love with a single theory, a phenomenon now known as confirmation bias. Our minds instinctively favor facts that support our beliefs and ignore those that contradict them.

Multiple working hypotheses. Chamberlin proposed simultaneously exploring several different explanations for a problem. This "inoculates" you against the danger of a single perspective, preventing premature commitment to a flawed idea. It's about holding your opinions lightly.

Principles for multiple hypotheses:

• Never commit to just one explanation upfront.
• Explore several explanations concurrently, testing them empirically.
• Be open to a mix of explanations, as reality is often complex.
• Be prepared to abandon a hypothesis if a better one emerges.

Break the cycle. The common flow from pain point to a single problem framing to a bad solution causes much misery. By embracing multiple working hypotheses, you challenge initial assumptions, foster creativity, and increase the likelihood of finding truly effective solutions. Practice this mindset, and share it with others to democratize better problem-solving.

Last updated: October 6, 2025