Problems & Problem-solving.

Written by Graeme Murray

We’ve continually been brainwashed to ‘think outside the box’ throughout our careers.

It was hailed as the holy grail of problem solving.

And anyone who applied this new mantra would magically turn on their creative juices.

It gained traction as many businesses traditionally struggled with proper problem diagnosis. A need for action led many of them to move their focus from diagnosis to solution mode. 

But the problem was that it didn’t make everyone creative. ‘TOTB’ became just another hyped buzzword that simply encouraged us to navel gaze, look beyond boundaries and discover new possibilities.

It helped creative agencies and consultancies sell more work and more workshops. But the work or outputs were not always better, or what clients expected.

What we’ve learnt is that simply throwing creative thinking at a problem isn’t going to solve the problem, unless we fully understand the problem, first. 

We need to understand the whole problem first.

So instead of discarding the box and doing tactics, we need to understand what the box is in its entirety.

We need to look at the problem from different angles and perspectives. Problems tend to be multi-causal and generating substantially different points of view will help you to eventually arrive at better solutions and better decisions.

For example, a slow lift isn’t necessarily fixed by making the lift go faster. Granted installing a better motor or tweaking the algorithm may indeed make it faster.

But maybe the problem is not about the lift being slow but the tedious wait. Installing a mirror, playing music, installing a hand sanitizer or getting people to walk then become viable and potentially more interesting solutions (source: ‘Are you solving the right problems?’ by Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg).

Reframing the problem - like the lift example above - may help you create something you might not have otherwise considered.

“Frames are powerful mental structures that shape the way we see the world” wrote George Lakoff, UC-Berkeley Professor in his book ‘Don’t think of an elephant’.

“Framing matters because it influences thinking, perceptions, attitudes and behaviours” stated David Aaker, hailed the Father of Modern Branding.

Framing can change the way people perceive, discuss and feel about brands. 

The truth is that the best creative solutions nearly always come from an alternative or reframed definition of the problem. And, according to Aaker, the strongest brands build strong frames that dominate perceptions and enable them to be more relevant (and successful) than their competitors.

Sadly we live in a corporate world where hours are equated to cash and naïve simplicity reigns – time spent on understanding problems is viewed as time wasted.

This is a critical mistake and something existing creative, research, digital and social agencies are simply not dedicated to doing well – they are too busy creating, not thinking.

“Our belief is that there is now a greater need than ever to deliver a fresh depth of thinking and ideas at pace”. 

As two brand practitioners with over 40 years of experience combining creativity, marketing and brand strategy, we have seen the difficulties and challenges first-hand of problem solving and brand building in companies of all forms and sizes.

An outside perspective gives you an unbiased opinion in rethinking a problem and developing solutions in the real world quickly and properly.

Diagnosing and reframing the problem thoroughly means you won’t reinvent the wheel or waste valuable time and money in the process.

Finding the right brand frame can set you free and unlock new approaches and business opportunities.

By thinking in a bias-free way as much as possible, we can consider a broader range of solutions that may lie in product, pricing, place, positioning, platform, portfolio, etc and not just communication.

And by being lean, fully digital and project-based, we won’t cost you the earth either and will deliver you results fast.

So if you’re in need of solving a big problem with more creative insights, discard the box and join us on the sofa instead.

#problemsolving #sustainable #brands #thelittleredsofa