Wicked Problems…and building teams who solve them
A wicked problem is a problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing variables. The effort to solve one aspect of a wicked problem may reveal or create other problems.
A great example of a wicked problem was when NASA tried to put a man on the moon. They had some idea of how they could get there, but there was no way they could spec out the first moon mission at the start. They had to develop rockets and find out all the catastrophic things that could go wrong. They had to get an orbiter flying around the Earth and then bring the astronaut back home safely. Eventually they got to the point of getting to the moon, but there was still the issue of getting home. After years of trial, error and significant failure Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon, and also safely got back to earth.
We at Lakeer have decided to work on one of the most wicked problems of our time, our man on the moon- the way Indian cities are governed and run. Lakeer is an urban governance initiative that makes India’s cities more liveable. We do it by supporting governments with actionable citizen-centric insights to improve quality of life in our cities.
Urban governance in India is a wicked problem because of so many complex and inter-related variables. Variables such as small coffers, big demands, poor leadership, arbitrary decision making and a great willingness to not change the status quo.
Internally, we call these variables the four horsemen of poorly governed cities. They are:
- A strong resistance to change within the administration
- Very limited urban resources.
- The lack of actionable public data
- An unequal government-citizen relationship
All of these are pretty damn hard to solve, especially if you aren’t the government.
In the face of all of this we often ask ourselves about the kind of team it would take to solve this , and other, wicked problems. We laid down some of that in the form of our team values, which go like this:
This is not a job, it is a career: A job is something you to do make money. A career on the other hand is a significantly more thoughtful, measured and deep engagement with your work- often with the goal of immense professional satisfaction. We looked deep into the organisations we loved- Teach For India, Google, the Tata Group- and realised how they gave everyone, across all levels, a shot at a career. We want to bring that shot at making a career to the urban governance problem, and plan to do it by investing strongly in people who are here for the long run.
It always seems impossible until it’s done; if you don’t do it no one will: We often walk into rooms of large foundations, the government and philanthropists to receive a quizzical “why this” look. Incredibly smart and hard working people have tried and failed at improving how India’s cities are governed. A billion stars need to align to move even fractionally towards making this happen. We could have chosen to deliver pet food, help you find your favourite podcast better or find yet another way for you to click on more ads- instead we chose a seemingly impossible problem to work on because its the right thing to do and no one else will. We’re looking for people with that deep hunger and sharp skills to tame this hydra of a problem.
Do or do not, there is no try: We’re looking for people with deep ownership for the work they do. These are people who take an artist like pride in their work, making it their own. These are also people who don’t complain when things aren’t going their way, and are cognisant of their own bandwidth and skills. These people get Lakeer’s, and Yoda’s, approval.
Work with thoughtfulness and urgency: You might think there is a tradeoff between how thoughtful you are about your work, and how fast you get through it. However, great organisations master both those parts, having a strong sense of both direction and speed. We’re looking for those amazing people who don’t just think through their work, but also can’t wait to get going and see results. Think through things, do them- but don’t sit on your ass for too long.
Ask the questions no one wants to ask; tell the stories no one wants to tell: One of our favourite people to learn from is the hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio (making us among the very few non profits that love to learn from hedge fund billionaires). He looks out for people who ask great questions-“Look for people who have lots of great questions. Smart people are the ones who ask the most thoughtful questions, as opposed to thinking they have all the answers. Great questions are a much better indicator of future success than great answers.”
We think this is especially important because so much of our work at Lakeer is about asking questions. We aren’t just interested in the pile of garbage on your road, but want to get to the understanding that piles of garbage happen because our waste infrastructure needs a new round of financing, and this financing needs to pay for a new dump because the already assigned dumps are now overflowing.
The other side of asking questions is telling stories. So much of our work is hard and thankless, but we’re working to build a strong culture where people share stories of great individuals and their wins and losses.
Don’t take decisions that you’re not willing to see in front page news: Pretty self explanatory. Our work is public, centred around a public good and involves working with the government. A strong, inflexible moral core is imperative to being legitimate problem solvers in this world.
Help each other be great: We looked back at every team we loved working in, and found that the one thing in common was that people truly were invested in each others success. That meant spending time after hours to coach someone, getting a coworker a meal when they’re stressed and sometimes just giving someone a hug when things don’t work out. No one fails, or succeeds, alone.
We’re Hiring!
In 2018, our work will reach 100,000+ citizens with the objective of showing how their greater engagement in neighbourhood-level democratic institutions can improve quality of life. We will also take a human-centered urban planning tool across 5 urban local bodies in India.
We’re looking to build a great team in government relations, citizen participation, and technology roles. You can find the role of Lead, Government Relations at Lakeer here.
As a tech non-profit we’re only 7 months old, but are showing significant traction and have partnerships with folks like the Government of Telangana, N-Core and Cisco. If the values mentioned above resonate with you, and if you’d like to learn more about what we do please write in to Varun (varun@lakeer.org).
