Problems

Access Teams of Expert Solvers led by World-Class Facilitators

Problems

February 13, 2009. By Peter Lloyd

When I was about nine years old I thought that if the world would just make me their dictator, I would kill all the bad guys. But even back then I realized that in order to carry out my plan, I would need a lot of bad guys.

Later on in high school, I noticed that a lot of my creative ideas were always being sabotaged by stupid, unimaginative knuckleheads. If I could just silence my critics, I thought...

And then somebody I thought was really not that smart or creative criticized what I thought was an elegant solution to the problem of poverty—guaranteed minimum income. It turned out that she understood economics a lot better than I did. She pointed out that everybody with only the minimum guaranteed income would still be poor.

photo of Moshe Dayan

These kinds of conundrums used to really frustrate me. They seem defy solution by their definition. Until I read a quote from Moshe Dayan. "A problem by definition is something that has a solution. So if there's no solution, it's not a problem."

Well, maybe. A deadlock in problem solving can mean that we've simply failed to define the problem.

The next time someone asks you to help end war or world hunger, ask them, why? Sure, you'll come off as a cynic at first. But the ensuing discussion will eventually lead you to a problem you can solve.

If that doesn't work, Solutions for the Common Good has thousands of problems facing society. You're welcome to tackle any of them.

Peter Lloyd is co-creator with Stephen Grossman of Animal Crackers, the breakthrough problem-solving tool designed to crack your toughest business problems.

Right Brain Workouts Explained

[NEXT WORKOUT]

Become a
Paid Problem Solver