To change that, we need to change how we think about success --> Moving from a SOLUTION base to a PROBLEM base. And the tools we use need to change too.
That’s why the very first thing we do in any engagement is brainstorm hidden or unsolvable problems a company could solve.
You could call it, PROBLEM STORMING.
- Assemble - get your core group of founders, tech, sales, marketing and other key leaders together
- Problem List - create a list of problems you already solve (it’s okay if these aren’t new problems, yet) - use a whiteboard or something like Mural if you can
- Target - ask yourself who has these problems, and then what related problem the people higher in the organization have --> usually c-suite
- Expand - with your refined list of problems in hand, ask yourselves are any of these right? Or (more likely) are they symptoms of a larger problem?
- Spell Out Cost - Once you figure out the higher order problems, get specific on the cost of not solving these problems … these costs will range from minor annoyances to, potentially, existential crises
- Vote - Drive towards a central tendency with a vote - which of these problems feels big enough and costly enough to warrant a solution. Remember problems are solved in businesses with budget line items - is your problem big enough and different enough to warrant that line item?