Look Out for Problems

I’m always a little torn when I hear a former student attribute a career change to my influence. On the one hand, it’s great when someone realizes that their environment might be holding them back — a PhD who has studied the efficacy of innovation programs for years told us that the #1 determinant of individual success after an innovation training is context (which certainly jives with what Kahneman says about restraining forces…) — on the other hand, it’s always a little bittersweet, as many organizations invite us in specifically in order to address known environmental / context challenges. Most organizations want to become the kind of place where explorers can see themselves growing in their careers.

There’s always an existential question of whether we succeeded, or failed, in such cases.

Enter Lorraine, a remarkable woman who’s revolutionizing gluten-free cooking in Australia with her company, Pom Pom Paddock. We originally met Lorraine when she was our primary collaborator for a large-scale org transformation effort of her global employer. But the role she had been given wasn’t quite demanding enough. After 18 years climbing the corporate ladder, she started feeling like she wanted to have a go at entrepreneurship. But where to start?

“I heard you guys say enough times that it’s not a good idea that matters, but having a really good problem to solve. For me, that’s where it all started. I decided, ‘I’m going to be open - whatever problems I come across, I’m going to try to find a solution for them. I’m going to be super sensitive to what’s around me in my environment - any problem I find myself solving, I’m going to pay attention to whether anyone has done anything interesting in that space… Two weeks later, while making cauliflower rice for my daughter, I realized, ‘This is super messy and time consuming, and no one has tried to make it simple.’”

And she was off to the races.

There’s something incredibly powerful about keeping a bug list, whether you’re in the midst of a potential career transition or not.

We asked her how it worked, practically. Lorraine said, “I prioritized it. Not only was in the back of my mind, but every morning, I’d remind myself, almost like a mantra, ‘What problems are you going to find today?’”

There has been a ton of experimentation, of trying and failing, etc. But it’s worth noting where the initial spark of inspiration came from: a commitment to look out for problems to solve. I believe an “awareness of problems worth solving” is, for many organizations, the great unrealized asset class.

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