Are you facing a problem or a situation? Maybe it’s both. That’s the dilemma many of us face, and knowing which one of these makes all the difference in what we do next.
A problem can be solved, and we can know when we’ve succeeded in doing so. Problems might be difficult, complicated, and persistent. Still, they are structurally similar in that there is an understanding of what it means to solve them, even if a solution is not in sight.
Situations are temporally-bound, unique to a time and place, and offer little clear indication of how long they will exist and in what form. Their cause is usually multifold and the implications of these causes on the consequences equally numerous in possibility. They can’t be solved, they can only be addressed. We work with situations and adapt to them, we don’t ‘solve’ them.
Situations can have problems embedded within them. This is partly what contributes to their complexity. The dilemma is in deciding how we address problems and situations that are connected.
The Wrong Thing Righter
The push to viewing situations as problems has much power behind it. Situations might, at best, be resolved insomuch as they no longer exist. The situation of reunification in Berlin during the Cold War was never solved, it ended when the Soviet system collapsed. What happened in Germany was just at the leading edge of a much-larger set of circumstances, decisions, and systems interacting; it wasn’t a problem.
Russell Ackoff spoke about doing the wrong things righter when we try to use an incorrect or misaligned idea to address something that it is not designed for. We see this when we try to improve decision-making in complex systems using more data gathered from linear, reductionist methods and models. The thinking is that if we just use better, more precise evidence connecting cause and effects we will show what works.
This comes at the cost of acting with data and methods that are appropriate to complex situations. This is where sense-making is lost due to the reliance on faith and trust in conclusions gathered using the wrong methods and models.
Cynefin Framework
Using something like the Cynefin Framework as a sense-making tool can help us resolve this dilemma. By understanding what qualities of the situation we face, we can begin to determine whether we are facing a problem set or something else. The Cynefin Framework is among the few practical means of assessing what kind of circumstances you’re facing while offering guidance on how to proceed.
Rather than proceed with Best Practices, we may need to consider developing exaptive practices, those that are developed through the process of sense-making with the data you have available and the observations you’ve made.
I see this situation often. Organizations and leaders seek clarity by aiming for better data and evidence at the expense of the work required to undertake the sense-making and design work that comes with addressing complex situations. At the same time, I’ve also seen people neglect the opportunities to improve their evidence and decision-making because they fail to see the solvable problems embedded within a complex situation.
Knowing what you are facing is the first step. Cynefin can help.
Is this a dilemma that you face?
Thanks for reading.