Fall in love with the problem, not the solution.
“We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want.”- Lao Tzu
For a pot its utility does not come from clay, but from its emptiness which allows it to hold whatever we want. The same applied to products. The utility of a product does not come from the underlying technology but from the problem it is solving.
This is a valuable lesson I learnt from one of the tech leads of a team I work closely with. Whenever, we used to face a problem with the product, I being a product manager would jump to finding solutions to the problem (most of which were technical solutions i.e. would require technical bandwidth to be implemented). My tech lead on other hand would advise me to wait (not jump to the solution) and sit with the problem first (aka clearly define the problem). At first, I thought its a bit ironic. Shouldn’t I as a product manager solving the problem that my product is facing? But later I realized, the duty of a PM is not to find the best solution of the problem at hand but to clearly define the problem in the first place. If a PM is successful in doing that, he/she can then invite other members in the team to look for the best possible solution.
Sharing another anecdote. Recently, I found myself caught in the spiral of the new technology buzz “AI-Agents”. One the surface it is an interesting concept of making AI more actionable, taking it one step further from just generating text and graphics to taking actions and completing task. As a tech enthusiast, I had a sudden urge to build an AI Agent on my own. But the problem was that I didn’t have a good enough use-case to solve for. What would the agent do? Who am I building it for? Again, I was caught in the trap of falling in love with the solution.
The solution to the problem lies in the problem itself.
Now, lets focus on defining the problem. Although, there are multiple ways and strategies to do that, I personally use the 5 WHYs technique. Its a simple and straightforward technique that can help you to get to the root of the problem and can hence help you define the problem more clearly and go to the root cause. You can read more about the technique here: https://hellopm.co/5-why-framework-for-product-managers/
“People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drills, they want a quarter-inch holes” — Theodore Levitt
No one wants to buy a drill, people want holes in their walls. A drill is a tool that can help them achieve that. But thats a superficial way of thinking about a problem.
Lets imagine a different scenario. Lets say you are a brain surgeon and you have a problem: you want to procure a surgical drill (aka cranial drill) to remove a tumor from your patients brain. If you are like me you will jump straight to the solution: how can I procure a high quality surgical drill as quickly as possible.
However, if you take a step back and think deeply about the problem, you may arrive at a different solution. Lets apply the 5 Why’s (more like 3 Why’s) method here:
- Why do you need a surgical drill?
A. To remove a tumor from my patients brain.
2. Why do you want to remove the tumour?
A. To ensure that the patient is cured and can live a longer, healthier life.
3. Why do you think invasive surgery is the only viable option to achieve the above outcome?
A. We can also try chemotherapy, which is non invasive.
The above is a very rudimentary example of how spending a bit more time with the problem may lead you to certain alternative solutions which you might have never thought of in the first place.
This writeup was inspired by Uri Levine’s book Fall In Love With the Problem, Not the Solution: https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Love-Problem-Solution-Entrepreneurs/dp/1637741987
Another great read on how to apply this principle to life: https://matthopkins.com/personal-development/reactive-vs-responsive/#:~:text=When%20you%20are%20being%20reactive,time%20to%20think%20things%20through.
Reach out to me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kinshukdudeja?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
