The People Problem

6. WICKED PROBLEMS What's in a Definition? Most of the time, when we encounter an issue with strategy or execution, we tend to attribute the problem to some kind of element within our built-in taxonomy. We see problems as technical in nature, or political or bureaucratic. Each has particular solution approaches that we use and eventually create frameworks for and leverage to solve then rinse, repeat. Frankly, my entire industry of consulting can be seen as basically an activity that consists of leveraging solutions that work for similar problems in different contexts. We see problems, we create solutions, we do pattern recognition, we apply the solution again, we charge a fee. So, what happens when we are faced with a problem or set of problems that doesn't seem to have an apparent answer, or a problem for which our meticulously cultivated frameworks and solution approaches don't offer a clear path forward? I could be a cynic and say we invent something or twist an old solution into such a state where it becomes unrecognizable as a previously tried approach. I could say we lie to ourselves or our clients, but then I'd be bordering on heresy. Instead I'd take the high ground and say that when we see totally intractable problem, we are usually just misreading the situation. After all, a wicked problem is a problem that really can never be solved definitively. It is a situation where the problem and solution are intrinsically tied together and are often understood only within particular contexts. These kinds of problems cannot be addressed by traditional frameworks or problem solving techniques because mitigating the effects of a wicked problem usually involves bespoke and ongoing work. Additionally, part of the problem with wicked problems is that a problem statement or definition usually can't be crafted. Given all of this, do we really face wicked problems in business? Apparent Unknowns. If we take at face value that every non-wicked problem has a solution, then it follows that those intractable issues that we encounter from time to time are only seemingly intractable. That is, they have a solution, we just can't get past the contradictory information, confusion and chaos to be able to see the way. Applying pattern recognition or just a boatload of experience to this issue leads me to believe that we can actually create a fairly easy framework for identifying so-called wicked problems and differentiating them from your run-of-the-mill difficult problems. Beyond that, it seems merely a practical matter to officially de-wicked them. The trick is, I believe, to be realistic about them and their causes. So, let's talk a minute about the causes of wicked problems. Or rather, let's talk about what doesn't cause them. Known Knowns. Wicked problems aren't the result of technology. Technology either works or it doesn't. There really isn't a gray area in the world of 1s and 0s. When it comes to problems resulting from our tools, we are not talking about issues that are impossible to solve because of changing or contradictory or incomplete requirements. The tool is the tool. It isn't the tool's fault that we don't know how to use it, or worse, what we intend to use it for. It isn't the tool's fault that we may have deployed it to solve a problem it cannot really solve. Yes, the tech may be defective or have intermittent problems resulting from complex integrations with other tools. But code is code. If the code is right, then the thing works. Testing and debugging code, surely a well-identified and discussed need, should be part and parcel of any technology's development lifecycle. It isn't a wicked problem that the code is wrong. We can follow well-established paths to isolate and resolve code problems in our technology. I don't mean to minimize the impact of badly acting tools, or code that is just total shit, but it isn't the fault of technology that we may have a wicked problem. Likewise, it hardly seems likely that our processes could be a causal element in a wicked problem. Our processes, like our tech, may be flawed and faulty. The workflow may misbehave. The steps of the process may be incomplete or frankly wrong. But these aren't causes of intractable problems. These things can be measured and quantified and solved for. Our processes are extensions or manifestations of the steps we take to operate our business. It would be false to suggest that our business operations are flawless and it is the process itself that is causing the problem. If anything, we have not properly translated the business steps, roles and activities into the processes. It would be akin to suggesting that our team lost the baseball game because we didn't use the right steps to win the game (i.e. hit the ball, run the bases, don't get out and come home). The process is probably just fine and is also likely the process the other team is using. If they beat us, then the process worked. It is merely unfortunate that they executed the process and we did not. Known Unknowns. Close observers would note that we touched on 2 legs of the nuclear triad of business management. And while process and technology each present their own major problem areas from time to time, they are both areas that we can measure and fix. They are not the root causes of wicked problems. The proof is merely that neither area offers problems that are impossible to solve. Technology and processes do not resist correction, they are not susceptible to bad moods or unpredictable outcomes. There are certainly complex problems that arise from interdependencies and integrations. Both areas are subject to the complication that comes about when one problem is fixed, only to cause another possibly unrelated problem. But these situations aren't wicked. This isn't the Gordian Knot we're solving for here. It is more like a Rubix Cube situation. Yes, it is complex, but there is a solution that can be achieved via pretty straightforward steps. These problems are sophisticated and complex, possibly, but not intractable. There is one aspect of our business, however, that tends not to cooperate with our methodical, measurable approach to problem solving that works so well with process and technology. There is one area for which contradiction, confusion, change and chaos is much more par for the course. Wicked problems in our business are generally caused... by the business. Unknown Unknowns. The reality is that we don't actually know what we need. Or rather, the things we really need are things we don't actively think about. This isn't metaphysical bullshit.* It is actual fact that people tend not to understand or truly grasp the things that they need or even the things that they think they want. You can see that around you every day, probably in the mirror, and you don't need me to convince you of it. There are things we think we need or want. My several decades on this planet have convinced me that those things are not things that are really the things. If "the business" is an extension of a bunch of smart people who don't really know what they want, then it stands to reason that the business itself doesn't really know what it wants, or what it needs. To my way of thinking, the greatest unknown in a business question or problem is essentially: what is it that we're trying to solve for? What business problem are we solving? What does the business want? Does the business really know what it wants? I put to you that it is, in fact, this very set of questions (or variation of the same question) that gives rise to many intractable problems that we face. To be clear, a problem is an impossible problem to solve when no one really knows what success looks like. My thousands of hours dealing with problems has led me to conclude that, more often than not, the business doesn't know what it is asking for. And I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I've been part of several teams that never really got around to figuring out how to get the business to clarify that rather critical point. In some cases, we never figured out that we weren't solving the right problem or asking the right question. In other cases, we knew we weren't asking the right question but recognized that asking was playing with political fire or was more generally an absolutely career-limiting move. Perhaps admitting this is a career-limiting move. But I see it all around me and I hear my peers discuss it as if it were a disease. I'm not sure there is a more damning indictment of strategic consulting than that. Wicked problems are the result of the business not knowing what it really wants. That is, they don't know what they need and are unable to translate that into wants. The reasons for this are manifest. In short, the business tends to deal with poorly understood objectives, badly communicated goals and outcomes that don't include a view of what success means. The business deals in a more descriptive vision of the future. There's more of "We want to engage the customer with digital technology" and less of "Our site is so terrible that we're not converting visitors to our web channel into actual customers and therefore <insert problem> is occurring," and on the surface that difference is okay. I mean, that small difference may seem semantic to most people. But for teams tasked with...