Mo’ problems, Mo’ problems

tak_lo
tak_lo
Aug 9, 2017 · 2 min read

I love problems. My philosophy is that the sooner I can encounter the problems, the faster I can go about solving them. There is nothing worse than encountering a problem later, the problem debt has stacked up, and it’s even harder to solve the problem. I genuinely get upset if I don’t forecast a problem I should have seen.

There are good and bad problems. Good problems help further the mission, whereas bad problems digress or even sink the mission. Bad problems can be turned around to be good problems if they serve to further the mission.

Loving problems is a virtuous circle. The faster you solve those problems, the more you are able to see other problems and solve them, and so and so forth. Over time, the faster rate of problem solving enables any team to be more agile and reactive to change. In a startup, that adaptability and reactiveness is key to survival.

Orienting a culture to solve problems can be achieved in a few ways. One method is to always start and end a discussion with “what are our problems?” and “did we solve our central problems?” Another is to celebrate individuals that surface problems, rather than the traditional way of hiding problem makers. Third is to get the group to practice and celebrate problem solving, by surfacing group problems and enlisting other’s feedback on those problems.

The CEO should be the chief problem maker. If CEOs create lots of problems, that means the CEO is pushing the envelope on the mission, where the startup can go, and the team on solving problems. If not, the CEO is not pushing enough.

tak_lo

Written by

tak_lo

Tak Lo. Zeroth.ai. Investor of the future.