How to find the right problem to solve and create the right solution to solve it.

Bruce Muirhead
4 min readApr 9, 2020

To be caught in the swell of an idea is something almost magical. It’s no secret that there are a myriad of problems that exist in wider society and that potentially millions of people would live better lives if these problems were solved.

The drive to create these solutions is what inspires scores of businesses and entrepreneurs to push boundaries and strive for a better tomorrow with the solutions that they devise.

However, with every new idea comes risk, and the deadliest mistake in the world of creating solutions is that all too often, the solutions created don’t end up ever solving any problems.

Which is why to truly create lasting solutions, a strategic approach should always be taken. Humans are naturally driven to solve issues, it’s a key part of what has led to countless centuries of successful existence.

But don’t jump in headfirst and expect to be carried by your unfaltering will to best your chosen problem.

Instead, think carefully about whether this is really the problem you want to solve in the first place.

It could be financially enticing, or it could be a purely altruistic goal. The personal reasoning for why you want to solve a problem doesn’t matter here. What does is whether this problem, above all others, is the one that you really want to solve.

Thousands of outfits before you may have failed to solve this problem, what’s going to make you any different than all the rest?

Your mission and framework for approaching the problem may be better than those in past, but problems have a habit of ensuring that even the best-laid plans go to waste.

Think about whether you’re willing to see this problem through to the end and meet every challenge that it may bring.

Understand that the problem itself may be relatively minor in relation to other problems where your skills would be equally well put to use.

Is there a chance you’ll realise mid-way through creating your solution that it’s better fitted to another problem and jump ship? Or will you accept the potential losses and pursue your original problem in the face of this?

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Bruce Muirhead

Mindhive | ex — Eidos, Boilerhouse, Basement, Margaret Marr | Speaker, Author | Bringing the shared economy to problem-solving #collectiveintelligence