The Problem with Problems
Author: Ken Homer Issue: 2022-10-19
The Problem with Problems
by Ken Homer
Free association test. What are the first five words to come to mind when you hear the word, “problem?”
Question: Was the word: “solution” among your top responses?
It would not be surprising if it were. A lot of things in our language are found in binary pairs: man/woman, child/elder, self/other, and problem/solution, are just a few examples among thousands. Binary thinking has its place and can be very useful.
However, the problem with binary thinking is that it fails us utterly when it is applied to situations that have multiple dimensions which get squashed down into a simple binary choice. Wicked problems, wicked messes, social messes, and ill-structured problems, all present us with enormous challenges which get compounded when we use the term “problem” in their place.
Wicked problems, as a class of challenges, were first defined back in the 1960s. The exact origin of the term is unclear but in the early 1970s two researchers by the name of Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber formally defined the term in a paper on social policy planning. They contrast wicked problems with “tame” problems, such as those found in mathematics, accounting, chess, puzzle-solving, engineering, etc.
They list ten specific characteristics of wicked problems:
- There is no definitive formulation of a wicked problem.
- Wicked problems have no stopping rule.
- Solutions to wicked problems are not true-or-false, but better or worse.
- There is no immediate and no ultimate test of a solution to a wicked problem.
- Every solution to a wicked problem is a “one-shot operation”; because there is no opportunity to learn by trial and error, every attempt counts significantly.
- Wicked problems do not have an enumerable (or an exhaustively describable) set of potential solutions, nor is there a well-described set of permissible operations that may be incorporated into the plan.
- Every wicked problem is essentially unique.
- Every wicked problem can be considered to be a symptom of another problem.
- The existence of a discrepancy representing a wicked problem can be explained in numerous ways. The choice of explanation determines the nature of the problem's resolution.
- The social planner has no right to be wrong (i.e., planners are liable for the consequences of the actions they generate).
Issue-Based Information Systems whiz Jeff Conklin has his own six characteristics of wickedness:
- The problem is not understood until after the formulation of a solution.
- Wicked problems have no stopping rule.
- Solutions to wicked problems are not right or wrong.
- Every wicked problem is essentially novel and unique.
- Every solution to a wicked problem is a “one shot operation”.
- Wicked problems have no given alternative solutions.
Source: Wicked problem (Wikipedia)
Number three on Jeff’s list is particularly interesting in that it yields up that wicked messes cannot be solved but can only be made better or worse. That’s valuable criteria for assessing progress when working with them.
Ronald Heifetz and Donald Laurie add a wonderful dimension with their distinction between technical problems and adaptive challenges. They assert that “The single biggest failure of leadership is treating adaptive challenges as technical problems.” They are good enough to list out six criteria that distinguish between the two:
Technical Problems Adaptive Challenges
Easy to identify. Hard to identify (easy to deny).
Lend themselves to quick and easy (cut & dried) solutions. Require relationships & approaches to work. changes in values, beliefs, roles,
Often can be solved by an authority or expert. People with the problem do the work of solving it.
Require change in just one or few places; often contained within organizational boundaries. Require change in numerous places; usually they cross organizational boundaries.
People are generally receptive to technical solutions. People are often resistant to even acknowledging adaptive challenges.
Solutions can be implemented quickly, often by edict. “Solutions” require experiments and new discoveries; they can take a long time to implement.
List adapted from The Work of Leadership published in The Harvard Business Review, Jan/Feb 1997, by Ronald Heifitz and Donald Laurie, and Leadership on the Line, by Ronald Heifitz and Marty Linsky.
I will have more to say on this matter in future Plex posts. For now, I just want to point out that whenever people apply problem-solving approaches to wicked messes and adaptive challenges, the chances are good that they will make things worse rather than better. Often that focus on forcing wicked messes into the problem box interferes with generating potential means of coping. Hence my appeal to imagination and the need to get marginalized voices in the room before attempting solutions.
Those of us who wish to make progress in confronting and coping with such messes and challenges need to bring more precision to our language and work to ensure that those we work with understand the vast differences between these things and cease applying the word problem to them.
Related:
- Ken Homer (author)
- 2022 (year)
- Topics: Media and Communication, Tools and Platforms, Work and Organizations