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DEFICIENT STATES

Problems First!

The first chapter treats the issue of deficient states in an in-depth manner. This may come as a surprise to some readers and may even disconcert certain others. After all, professional problem-solvers such as planners, managers, or advisors are gauged by the solutions they come up with and the number of measures they take, i.e., by the drive they show, or, at least, by clearly defined goals. At any rate, they are not assessed in terms of how long they can turn the problem over in their minds. Isn’t it true that problem-solvers are commonly considered beneficial only if they are able to swing into action quickly and instantly know just what is to be done instead of spending long periods brooding over a problem? They are considered successful if they act in a“solution-directed”rather than in a“problem-oriented” manner.

One of the main reasons for writing this book is that, more often than not, attempts at solving a problem fail not due to a“false” solution but because the problem at hand was not sufficiently analyzed beforehand, which in turn leads to engaging with a“wrong” problem right from the start.

“We fail more often because we solve the wrong problem than because we get the wrong solution to the right problem.”

Russel Ackoff

As such, this first chapter is above all a plea for more“problem orientation” and less“solution fixation”. It aims to raise awareness of the fact that the manner in which a problem is perceived has a decisive bearing on the success or failure of any attempt at a solution.

Depending on how well or poorly, how precisely or imprecisely, how broadly or narrowly a problem definition is formulated, the types of solutions that can be found are to a large extent determined accordingly.

Correspondingly, the deficient state– i.e., the question of where exactly a particular problem lies and how it may be described– can hardly be overemphasized.

Although this book is solution-oriented, the chapter on deficient initial states is treated in much greater detail than in comparable books, because this is the only way good solutions can be found in a manner that is reliable, comprehensible, and reliably reproducible. The slogan“Problems First!” amounts to the most important working aid and has therefore also been chosen as the heading of the first chapter.

Moreover, the objective of this first chapter is also to allow one’s own view of a deficient state and its immediate“surroundings” to broaden and shift, much like the beam of a headlight. By deliberating on the origins and immediate consequences of a deficient state, new, potentially more precise, comprehensive, as well as better solvable problem descriptions automatically emerge.

A so-called problem shift helps to expand a focus that may possibly be too tight, placing it on other areas which were hitherto not taken into consideration. As a result, a new perception of interrelations incorporating other, previously overlooked“trigger moments” is opened up, including the path to new solutions. What may seem at first glance like a random action (following the motto“can one simply go on renaming a problem until it fits into a predefined concept?”) is not only a legitimate step but also an effective procedural element for solving problems, as is explained in this chapter. After all, problem definitions are neither irrevocable nor are they predetermined by a higher authority as being“objective”.

Problems are never objective.

Problems are never objective, i.e., independent of the observer or simply“out there in the world”. They exist exclusively in