{"id":5643,"date":"2020-05-28T14:53:14","date_gmt":"2020-05-28T14:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etereman.com\/remanu\/?p=5643"},"modified":"2020-05-28T14:55:29","modified_gmt":"2020-05-28T14:55:29","slug":"good-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etereman.com\/remanu\/2020\/05\/28\/good-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"Good Problems"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\u201cThat\u2019s a good problem to have.\u201d\u00a0 Have you ever heard that one before? Of course you have, it\u2019s a clich\u00e9 familiar to almost everyone\u2026\u00a0 but what does it mean?\u00a0 Are there really some problems that are bad while others are less bad or even good?\u00a0 Are these good problems more or less important to work on than the bad problems?\u00a0<\/p>

Well, let\u2019s start by agreeing just what a problem is in the first place. Oxford dictionary defines \u201cproblem\u201d as:<\/p>

  1. A matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome.<\/em><\/li>
  2. An inquiry starting from given conditions to investigate or demonstrate a fact, result, or law.<\/em><\/li><\/ol>

    In the first, most common, definition I see little room for interpretation, \u201cunwelcome or harmful\u201d are words that seldom, if ever, can be paired with \u201cgood\u201d. \u00a0The second definition, most frequently used in math and physics, removes any assessment or judgment and becomes merely an inquiry into given conditions. This is the definition we\u2019ll focus on.<\/p>

    The phrase \u201cgood problem to have\u201d is often used to describe a situation where one option is less bad than the alternative. For example:<\/p>

    • Sales are booming so much that it\u2019s tough to keep up with the demand. Surely that\u2019s better than nobody wanting to buy your product or service.\u00a0<\/li>
    • Our startup has raised a ton of money, but now the pressure is on to invest it wisely to grow the company to satisfy the stakeholders. Far better than being out of working capital and having to fold.<\/li>
    • We have several excellent candidates for our open position but will have to tell many of them that they don\u2019t get the job and we\u2019ll lose out on their skills. A superior alternative, I think we\u2019d all agree, to having no applicants or only sub-standard ones.<\/li><\/ul>

      These aren\u2019t good problems, though. These are basically \u201chumble brags\u201d. The rough equivalent of saying \u201cMy cup overfloweth and I don\u2019t have anything to catch all that extra goodness with.\u201d At worst, these are better problems, but more likely they aren\u2019t problems at all.\u00a0<\/p>

      So what about the elusive good problem?\u00a0 Does it truly exist?\u00a0 Put simply, yes it does. The difference (subtle though it may be) is attitude and perspective. A good problem is one that is worth your time to solve, a problem that has the chance to move you and\/or your company forward and, perhaps most importantly, one you choose to solve. That doesn\u2019t necessarily make them easy to spot, so I\u2019ve created an \u201cOptimist\u2019s List for Good Problem Criteria\u201d (realists can play along too, pessimists are half-unwelcome).<\/p>

      • Is the problem <\/strong>solvable<\/strong>\/<\/strong>a<\/strong>ctionable<\/strong>?<\/strong> If nothing can be done to affect a set of conditions, it\u2019s not a good problem, it\u2019s a meteor headed to earth that can’t be stopped by your optimism and energy. That\u2019s definitely a bad problem, and not worth your energy to try and solve.<\/li>
      • Is the problem <\/strong>linked <\/strong>to <\/strong>an <\/strong>o<\/strong>pportunity<\/strong>?<\/strong> When viewed as a way to gain reward and\/or reduce harm almost all problems fit this criteria \u2013 either by exploiting for gain or mitigating damage, improvement is realized. But it\u2019s important to ask because if you can\u2019t say yes, then this one is definitely not worth your time.<\/li>
      • Is it the <\/strong>result <\/strong>of <\/strong>progress <\/strong>in other areas<\/strong>?<\/strong> Healthy tension between sales and production or other growth-related problems are always worth solving. Either by raising the struggling areas to meet the achievements, or tempering runaway growth so the company can expand strategically.<\/li>
      • Is the problem <\/strong>present in an atmospher<\/strong>e of <\/strong>accountability<\/strong>\/<\/strong>openness<\/strong>? <\/strong>Only real, root problems can be meaningfully solved, and thus are the only ones worth your time working on.\u00a0 Treating symptoms and downstream issues as problems is wasteful, and so open and honest discussion is crucial to identification of the root cause or causes.\u00a0 This can be uncomfortable and, for some groups as currently assembled, perhaps impossible (if so, you have your first good problem!)<\/li><\/ul>

        For the most part, you get to choose which problems you solve. Time and effort are limited resources, and that means that we should only work on good problems. There\u2019s some more good news: most bad problems can be transformed into good ones by determining if it\u2019s worth your time, taking ownership, and identifying root cause. If it still remains a bad problem \u2013 maybe it\u2019s best to let it go, there\u2019s not much you can do to avoid that asteroid.<\/p>

        There are many tools, models, and methods for strategic problem solving. Though they all are fairly simple to use, requiring commitment to the process more than innate problem solving skills, there is no one perfect process.\u00a0 Use several of them until you find the one that fits your organization best. (Need a few starting points? Write me a note. I\u2019ll suggest my favorites and probably a book or two.)\u00a0<\/p>

        Embrace your problems, but make sure you\u2019re only embracing the good ones. Your time and effort are your most valuable resources. Use them with a little optimism and effort, and those good problems are your best opportunities!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        \u201cThat\u2019s a good problem to have.\u201d\u00a0 Have you ever heard that one before? Of course you have, it\u2019s a clich\u00e9 familiar to almost everyone\u2026\u00a0 but what does it mean?\u00a0 Are there really some problems that are bad while others are less bad or even good?\u00a0 Are these good problems more or less important to work […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":5645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[100,952,951,719,186],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGood Problems - REMANU<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/etereman.com\/remanu\/2020\/05\/28\/good-problems\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Good Problems - REMANU\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cThat\u2019s a good problem to have.\u201d\u00a0 Have you ever heard that one before? 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