Embracing the Problem, You Solve it

Squirrels and feeders

Years ago, a friend told me a story about her husband building a squirrel feeder. She described how he sits back and watches the squirrels feeding on one feeder and the birds feeding on another. Then it hit me. 

"Wait a minute," I said, "are you telling me that as a result of having their own feeder, the squirrels no longer go after the bird's food?" Yes she said, matter of factly. I thought of all of the energy that went into making contraptions that focus solely on keeping squirrels away from the precious bird seed. All the R&D, the marketing, the employees that shared the same approach to solving the same problem. Yet, here was a solution that simply fed the squirrels so the birds could eat in peace. I saw sanity in this solution, the peacefulness of it. I saw how it worked with the squirrel's needs instead of just viewing them as the "problem" - something that needed keeping out. (Interestingly, I have felt like the squirrel most of my life!) 

It began informing the way I look at problems, and solutions. 

Walk towards the problem. Many times our primary response to dealing with a problem is to make it go away. We tend to think of “limits” (limited resources in particular) as the problem. But experienced designers will tell you that unlimited “blue sky” options are… exhausting. How do you pick when you have limitless options? Design looks at the limits in a project as constraints. If the project is a building, think of it as a column you can’t move. Or in my case, an old yellow bathtub you can’t afford to take out. 

In my consulting work, and in that bathroom remodel, I have noticed the beauty of moving towards the constraint rather than moving away from it. Why? Because when you organize around the constraint, the solutions that can work show up. This is as true of my bathroom as it is of an organization consisting of several large departments. When I listen to my clients, I listen for their real constraints. This has to do with resources, culture, and politics that make their environment unique to them. When you have solutions that embrace the constraints, an organizational pathway becomes possible. Use the constraint as an organizing principle in your solution set.

Listen for the harmony. How cool was it that the squirrel feeder was the path of least resistance? You’re not fighting the squirrel’s basic instinct, you’re embracing it. There is a simplicity here, an honoring of what is, that holds harmony. Someone I had not seen in years and bumped into at a workshop said to me, "I like your hair long. You used to fight the curl in your hair and now it seems you've embraced it." It was summer, and when I got out of the shower, I let my hair hang dry in whatever curls it wanted. Not only is this an example of embracing what I typically viewed as a problem, but it also made life easier and more effortless. There is some kind of lesson in here for solution crafting, especially for humans. Listening for harmony means the solution can serve its role over a longer period of time.

Where might you be spending time fighting an issue or making something go away? Is there a way to embrace what's causing the conflict and find a simpler way?