Sometimes you can be so blinded by a specific solution to a problem that you completely forget what the root cause of the problem was.
When people are facing challenges of some sort, they seldom jump straight to very specific solutions to the problem.
Instead they dwell at the problem for a while – short or longer depending on problem, person and context – and then they start looking for A solution.
Now, the ‘A’ here is important. Because it implies that most times there are more than one potential solution to any given problem, someone might have. And every possible solution is an opportunity for you to be relevant.
It may very well be that you don’t have the most fancy solution. That your technology is not the most unique. That your solution is not the cheapest.
But does it ultimately matter if you’re the one of the options who have understood the root problem best? Are best at showing empathy? Best at using that empathy to lead people in the direction of your particular solution, when the search for a solution kicks off?
Maybe? Maybe not?
The point here is not to be too fixated and even fall in love with a particular solution. Chances are that before you’re able to get that fabled solution out in the market something will happen that makes it less relevant, non-happening or it just gets overtaken by someone else.
Someone who just understood the root problem better.
The above is not to say that you shouldn’t be focused and bold on bringing new solutions to market that can change how big problems get solved for real people. Of course you should.
But it is to say that you should never forget to make sure you understand the root cause of the problem, and by doing that keep your options for viable solutions open and pursue them as you see fit.
Doing that will greatly increase your odds of succeeding and – most importantly – drastically reduce the risk of running into a dead end.
(Photo: Pixabay.com)
