Day 16: Understanding Why Problems Exist

Today you will learn about the first moment of revelation on your path to purpose: that problems exist in the world. You will learn about Solutionary thinking to explore why those problems exist and how to research their causes and consequences.

Summary

What is Solutionary Thinking?

The First Moment of Revelation: something important in the world can be corrected or improved

• At this point you need to start identifying exactly what that something is, why it's happening and how how's it been attempted to be corrected by others.
• To do this, you're going to begin engage in Solutionary thinking.

Solutionary thinking is comprised of four different types of thinking that are working together:

• Critical thinking: the ability to determine what is factual and to analyze and assess one's own thinking processes.  
• Systems thinking: relies on critical thinking to learn about and understand the connections between the problems in complex systems, their interrelated causes, and how our solutions can do the most good for the most people and reduce unintended negative consequences.
• Strategic thinking: creation of effective ideas for achieving a goal or solving a problem leading to a greater likelihood of successful solutions, as well as the implementation of those solutions.
• Creative thinking: addressing the problem in a fresh and inventive manner

Systems are complex and adaptive. That means if you change one thing in the system, it's going to effect the entire system at large.

• This can cause anxiety to take action for fear of the consequences.
• But it can also be empowering because you exist in these systems. If you can start with changing yourself you can begin effecting change on the system.

Why use Solutionary Thinking to understand problems?

You must understand the causes of the problem you’re addressing, including mindsets, psychological factors, and systems that perpetuate the problem, in order to make the problem cease to exist.

How to understand the causes and consequences of a problem

The best way to prepare for changing a systems and implementing a solution is to research causes and their consequences.

Step One: Connect with Stakeholders

• Stakeholders include all of those who have a stake in the issue at hand, including humans, animals, or elements of our biosphere.
• All stakeholders needs should be sincerely considered when addressing any problem. The more you connect with those who are affected by the problem, the better you will understand the impacts of the problem.
• When you connect with stakeholders, you will also learn more about the efforts that have been made to solve the problem in the past and the outcomes of those efforts.
• For the different stakeholders from whom you can't get verbal feedback, such as animals or ecosystems that exist, talk with people who can accurately represent their perspectives.
• Stakeholders could be impacted by the problem, could be impacted by the solution, could be invested in bringing a solution to fruition, and could be invested in preventing a solution from coming to fruition.

Step Two: Identify Causes of the Problem

• Causes include psychological factors, worldviews, and mindsets to systemic structures
• Try using the iceberg model (Page 34 of the Solutionary Guidebook) to get deeper to the underlying structures and behaviors that are perpetuating a problem.

Answer the following questions about the problem:

• Is it a system or a group of unconnected parts?
• What's the purpose of this system?
• Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts?
• What are the parts and how do they connect?
• What is happening in this system?  
• What patterns do you start noticing?
• What behaviors emerge from the connection between parts?
• How might we graph this behavior of this system over time?
• What patterns can we find about this system that behaves over time?
• Do these patterns remind you of another situation you've experienced or learned about from another system?
• How do different parts balance each other or reinforce behaviors?
• What happens when a part of the system is missing or is added?
• What intended or unintended consequences might come from changing the system?
• Which of these might be delayed and only emerge over time?
• How might this system be related to other systems?
• From whose perspective is this story about this system written and how do you know?
• What are the boundaries of this system and who decides this?
• What do people think about this system and why do they think this?
• How might altering our perspective make us see the system differently?

Step Three: Determine Harm and Benefits

• Different stakeholders experience complex systems in unique ways.
• To fully address a problem you need to identify who and what is harmed by the problem, and who and what benefits by the problem existing

Step Four: Research Existing Solutions

• Identify what has been done so far to solve the problem. There's no need to reinvent the wheel of good solutions if they just need effective implementation.
• It's also worth avoiding solutions that have already been found to be less effective than expected, or have unintended negative consequences.
• Analyze both successful and failing solutions, paying attention to any unintended negative consequences from different approaches that have been tried.

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Activity

Examine the problems you identified in the previous lessons and engage in Solutionary thinking, using the four step process for researching the causes and consequences of the problem.

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Skill Lesson Mastered

Demonstrate mastery of the knowledge and skills presented in this lesson by applying it to the above activity. If, and only if, you have a full understanding and have mastered the knowledge and skills presented in this lesson, select the next lesson in the navigation.