11 minute read
Solving Problems by Jeff Shinabarger
DAY 1 PROBLEM SOLVERS
By Jeff Shinabarger
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Founder of Plywood People and author of More or Less: Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity.
@shinabarger
“The one who sees the problem has the responsibility to fix it.” - Simon Mainwaring
Every Wednesday in seventh grade math, we explored the Problem of the Day. It was my favorite part of school that day. The Problem of the Day was always a clever issue phrased in such a way as to trick us into an incorrect solution. Spotting the tricks and uncovering the real answer felt more like a game than math. If we got the answer right, we would get extra credit for the week. Little did I know that twenty years later I would still enjoy the game, that I would actually build my life around solving problems. But that is what I get the opportunity to do.
When we as leaders start taking responsibility for problems, we turn into actionable leaders.
We move from potential to action. From idea to implementation. From problem toward solution. When we see problems, we feel a responsibility to fix them.
Many people ask me to define what social innovation is. Some people think it is about social media. Others think it is related to new inventions. Some think it is a current title for owning your own business. While it may contain parts of all those things, the real definition is simple: social
innovators solve problems.
addressing the most pressing societal needs of our generation. When you think of one of these leaders, you instantly associate his or her accomplishments and name with the problem that person is solving. Let me give you a few examples in our current world. You may or may not agree with the importance of a person’s cause or agree with his approach, but you know him by the problem he is addressing and understand that he’s pursuing a problem and giving his life to meeting a broken thing that needs to be fixed.
Muhammad Yunus: microfinance. Blake Mycoskie: shoes. Gary Haugen: human trafficking. Scott Harrison: clean water. Jason Russell: Joseph Kony. Wendy Kopp: education. Susan B. Komen: breast cancer. Al Gore: climate change.
Problem solvers don’t just have résumés; they have stories of solutions that everyone can declare and celebrate.
Most people flee problems. Problems frustrate. Problems throw up red flags that cause the people facing the problems to throw up the white flag of surrender. But there is another way to look at problems. Problems create a distraction from accomplishing something significant. As Henry Ford explained, “Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than trying to solve
them.” When we encounter a problem, we try to create a shortcut to keep moving, when in reality, we have an incredible opportunity sitting in front of us: discovering a solution.
Innovators are the ones who attack, engage, experiment with, and ultimately solve problems
in a new way. History remembers problems solvers because their solutions change the trajectory of the future. It was Albert Einstein who stated, “It’s
not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with
problems longer.” When a problem is solved, a new era in time begins. The situation morphs from past to present. When we solve a problem, we will be known. Ideas don’t make a person known, though it may make them unique or creative.
Our mantra at Plywood People is “We will be known by the problems we solve”.
Let’s break this phrase down into two different elements. First: being known.
TO BE KNOWN
Others knowing your name creates a deep sense of self worth. When your name is known and spoken, you feel a deep sense of identity. We all want to be known.
I struggle with this all the time. This morning I looked to see how many people were following me on Twitter. I often check to see if anyone liked my latest photo.
Too often I try to quantify my influence, and then it becomes a ranking game of me versus the rest of the world. Why do I do these things that have no meaning? Because I want to be known.
I want to feel special, feel loved, and to feel self worth. While we all want to be known, not all of us want to be known in the same way. We may want to be known for making a Grammy Awardwinning album. We may want to be known as an amazing photographer, a successful entrepreneur, or the writer of a clever Twitter statement that gets retweeted by the world. This selfish ambition
drives an unimpressive passion for self-
expression. We try to make ourselves look better than we truly are. We see these traits most clearly through social media today. There is a fear among many thoughtful leaders that the web-based quick route to fame leads to ever-increasing amounts of narcissism. While I have also witnessed the rise of self-centered blogs, tweets, and posts, I wonder if
both our desires to be known and the growing connectedness of the world can be used for
good. I believe the future is about combining these pursuits, which will result in solutions that are deeply significant and come from an approach rooted in humility and the needs of others before self.
What are you currently known for? Being known can result from both good things and bad. Too often we try to be known for something that we are not. We create a false persona that is a short-term veneer that will never last. To be known authentically for
what only you can contribute to the world ought to be the hope when pursuing your calling and
gifting it to culture. This is the opportunity that is given to us through influence.
A long-term view of what you want to be known for takes short-term achievement out of the equation and introduces virtues that define a
life. Seasonal accolades become less valuable, and a lifestyle prioritizes your pursuit.
Problem solvers look to initiate good for the sake of others. Whenever we prioritize the needs of others, our influence becomes more sincere and stronger and also results in a deeper worth of your identity publicly. Being known may be a desire of many people, yet prioritizing and highlighting societal needs expands influence. In this scenario, you will have built a well-known reputation that others respect and admire.
The second element in our mantra at Plywood People is problem solving. Here are four common practices of problem solvers:
(1) Be in Places where Problems Happen.
Problem solvers spend time in places with problems. If you claim to be a problem solver, but are never in proximity to problems, then you are just a problem talker. Go to where the problem is and dig in. Leroy Barber taught me, “If you want to see beauty, you need to go to the darkest places on earth, and light will clearly shine.” In the hardest places, we see the opportunity for the greatest potential. I believe some of the greatest innovations happen in the places and times of the greatest despair. Out of our suffering,
solutions become clear.
If you want to be a problem solver, you have to position yourself to seek out and engage problems highlighting your unique ability to create solutions. Problems take time, energy, and hard work. To solve problems, you have to tear back the layers and change the infrastructure of how things work. You will need to train your mind and passions to focus on things most of society chooses to neglect. Problem solvers learn to attack what is broken and begin the process of restoration. We see opportunities lurking behind problems. We see potential; we don’t get paralyzed by the way things currently are.
(2) Understand Your Responsibility.
When we position ourselves where problems arise, we find many tension points that need solutions. There are many more problems in the world than you or I can solve. As you start to see more problems, you will be forced to ask questions based on your involvement. Every problem needs an opportunity-evaluation process.
Option A—No Thank You You see a problem and determine you have no interest in touching it with a ten -foot pole. This is when you step away. It is okay to not be involved in every problem. If you try to do everything, you will accomplish nothing.
Option B—I’ll Connect You You feel compassion toward the problem, but you know your strengths don’t match the solution. Your responsibility should be to connect others who can help with solutions. In this situation, you engage by using social capital and networks to introduce the problem to other leaders. This includes personal introductions to the situation or broadcasting the need through your streams of communication.
When we become aware of a need, it is often our responsibility to do something with it and help in the resolution.
Option C—I’ll Help You You see a problem, and your abilities can help tackle a portion of that need. Commit to where you can best help. You understand that the problem is big. You see that someone is tackling it well; they just need help. You become an adviser, a sounding board, an activist, or a working portion of that team. This shows great poise in understanding who you are and what you do. You dig in because you care and have something to contribute. Too often innovators try to create their own solution instead of working alongside other creators to improve the project. Find your place and attack it.
Option D—I’ll Solve This This is when a problem confronts you and you can’t shake it. You look to make sure no other person around you can truly bring it the attention it deserves. You have a deep sense of responsibility, and it is your responsibility to lead, give vision, and solve. This is the problem you find the deepest sense of purpose in pursuing.
(3) Head in the Clouds and Feet Touching the Cement
Idea people are all around us. The people who actually implement their ideas are few and far
between. I struggle with solely being a visionary, having my head in the clouds all the time. This can be a strength, but it can also be a weakness. If I am dreaming all the time and never get anything done, all I am is an idea person who never solved a problem. I heard a business guy say the other day that in order to solve problems, we need 10 percent ideation and 90 percent implementation.
Problem solvers determine with great clarity what problem they are solving, and they follow the path toward solutions. Without the path, you are living a dream. Walking the path takes you closer. If you have a viable and sustainable new solution, give it everything that you have. You will know it is new and good when people tell you. They will literally say, “That is a good idea.”
When it is a truly good idea, not just outsiders will applaud your idea—the people who need it most will celebrate your solution. When you have created a viable solution, that solution will sustain.
I end with the beginning. At Plywood People, a huge part of our social innovation is celebrating that one word: we. Bob Goff helped me clarify my own vision by pointing out that “there are many things
we can do, but only a few things we are made
to do.” The beauty in a community like Plywood People is that we have the opportunity to collectively bring solutions to our society.
There will be no significant problem you will ever solve by yourself. It takes many people with unique strengths working together to make change. As a problem solver, one of the greatest responsibilities you have is to attract other talented people to your solution and retain them over a long period of time.
Surround yourself with a team that is pursuing those solutions that are hardest to tackle. Fear will limit your creation. Make solutions with courageous people willing to go to the darkest places to create the deepest solutions. Sometimes the best way to do this is to create small communities to share best practices. We have found a problem: as organizations sustain, they need advice on managing teams, scaling the business, balancing work and life, and leading out of the start-up phase to predictable success and organizational structures, among other topics. This is why we have launched “Layers.” Layers involves the deepest level of business integration of the ideas of the organization, the values we represent, and the collaboration we foster. It’s a collaborative consulting group building on the expertise of people in the room to develop coercive solutions.
Together we can do more than any one of us can do alone. We can make a significant dent in the needs of our communities. I can celebrate your work, and you can celebrate mine. We can introduce people to each other and to their forming solutions. We can guide friends to their passions. We can connect one another to people who will help in their solutions. We can share best practices. We can critique each other’s work. We can do things better. We can do more working together.
