Understanding of Problem-Solving

Unless there is a problem, there is no creativity: Any problem is the right problem if there is an attempt to find a solution. 

Problem-solving is both art and science. What's exactly the problem? That’s a deep and honest question — and I think the real ones always start there, not with solutions, but with seeing the problem clearly. We all carry different kinds of problems: some are practical — like time, money, or decisions with no good options. 

Others are quieter — feeling stuck, disconnected, or like you’re moving fast but not forward. And some are both: a job that drains you, a relationship that’s off, or a goal that feels out of reach. But here’s what I’ve learned: the way we deal with them isn’t about fixing them all at once. It’s about meeting them without flinching — not as things to “get over,” but as signals. A signal that something matters. That you care. That you’re paying attention.

So the first step isn’t action — it’s acknowledgment. Not “how do I make this go away?” but “what is this trying to tell me?” That shift — from resistance to curiosity — is where things start to move.

Different problems are different kinds of things, and each kind calls for specific understandings:

-Tame problems (known solution, clear rules — a billing error) → explanatory + formal understanding. This is where the first kinds of the taxonomy shine, and where most business training lives.

-Complex problems (cause and effect only visible in hindsight — a failing market entry, org dysfunction) → systemic + ecological + dialectical. Here, more explanatory analysis are still not enough: you need to probe, sense, respond, not static plan, but dynamic planning.

-People problems (conflict, morale, resistance) → interpersonal + compassionate + narrative. The catastrophic failure mode: applying formal/explanatory understanding to humans, then calling the resistance "irrational."

-Novel problems (never seen before — new markets, disruption) → analogical + generative + intuitive. There is no data, so the mind must build from what things are like, then make something to learn from.

-Crisis problems (structure collapsing — scandal, collapse) → catastrophic + reflexive + apophatic. The problem is that the old understanding failed; the task is understanding what the failure reveals, not restoring the map.

Unless there is a problem, there is no creativity: Any problem is the right problem if there is an attempt to find a solution. It’s important to build a comprehensive framework, develop the systematical methods and practices, leverage multidisciplinary knowledge and take systematic approaches, to pursue optimal solutions and become problem-solving masters. 

Posted in: Problem Solving