How to Solve Real Problems

I timed it yesterday: A leadership team spent 47 minutes "solving" the same issue they've tackled in every meeting for the past 4 months. Sound familiar? They identified symptoms, not causes. Everyone had opinions, few had solutions. They created action items no one completed. The problem returned, slightly repackaged. This isn't just inefficient. It's the silent killer of growing businesses. After implementing EOS with 500+ entrepreneurial companies over 15 years, I've found teams waste up to 68% of their meeting time on recurring issues that never get solved at the root. The difference between teams that solve issues once and teams stuck in the loop isn't intelligence. It's methodology. Enter the Issues Solving Track - the EOS tool that transforms how leadership teams attack problems: 1. IDENTIFY the real issue Most teams get this wrong. They discuss symptoms, not causes. Try this instead: → Write the issue as one clear sentence → Ask "Why is this happening?" three times → Determine if it's a people issue, process breakdown, or communication gap A manufacturing client kept "solving" quality problems until they properly identified the real issue: unclear quality standards, not lazy employees. 2. DISCUSS with discipline The discussion phase isn't: → A platform for the loudest voice → A place for tangents and war stories → A political positioning exercise It is: → A focused examination of relevant facts → A space for diverse perspectives → A way to challenge assumptions respectfully The best teams have a designated facilitator who keeps discussion on track and ensures every voice contributes. 3. SOLVE completely The only reason to discuss an issue is to solve it. When you've reached clarity, document: → A specific action step → One person accountable (not a department) → A concrete due date (not "ASAP" or "ongoing") Then move on. No revisiting. No second-guessing. A software company I work with was averaging 3.5 hours in weekly leadership meetings. After implementing the Issues Solving Track, they cut meeting time to 90 minutes while solving twice as many issues. The best businesses aren't the ones without problems. They're the ones that solve problems at the root. Want to implement the Issues Solving Track in your business? Use the process below 👇

Are You Solving the Right Problem? As leaders & professionals, we're often under pressure to act quickly when challenges arise. Our instinct—or perhaps muscle memory—is to dive straight into solution mode. But over the years, I've found that one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves is: Are we solving the right problem? Consider the hybrid workforce. Organizations often roll out solutions like employee engagement activities, gift cards, virtual celebrations, enforcing video-on policies during calls, or hosting virtual team-building sessions. While these seem like good ideas, they may serve as quick fixes that don't address the real issue. So, what's the actual problem? ❓Is it a lack of engagement? ❓A drop in productivity? ❓Struggles with team cohesiveness? ❓Or could it be something deeper, like communication barriers? ❓Disconnect between leadership and employees? ❓Or even more fundamental issues like trust and culture? Getting to the heart of the problem is crucial. 🛠️ 3 Steps to Identify the Right Problem: Observe and Listen: Start by carefully observing the symptoms. What are the visible signs that something's not working? Gather data and listen to feedback from your team. This will help you understand the nature of the issue. Ask Deep Questions: Go beyond surface-level explanations. Use techniques like the "5 Whys" to dig into the root causes. If engagement is low, ask why—several times over—to uncover the core issue. The real problem often lies beneath the symptoms. Understand the Context: Consider the broader organizational environment, team dynamics, and culture. What seems like an issue in one area might be a symptom of a deeper problem elsewhere. Context is critical to accurate diagnosis. Once the right problem is identified, solving it effectively requires careful consideration. 💡 3 Considerations When Solving the Problem: Engage Multiple Perspectives: Involve diverse voices from across the organization. Different perspectives can reveal angles you might miss and lead to more robust solutions. Collaboration ensures broader acceptance and better outcomes. Resist the Quick Fix: It's tempting to go for quick solutions, but they often only address symptoms. Focus on sustainable solutions that tackle the root cause. This may take more time, but the long-term benefits are worth it. Reflect and Iterate: After implementing a solution, reflect on its impact. Did it address the problem effectively? Be prepared to iterate and adjust as needed. Continuous improvement is essential for long-term success. The most successful leaders don't just jump to solutions—they take the time to define the problem accurately. By doing so, they create a foundation for meaningful, lasting change. So, before you dive into solving what seems like an urgent issue, ask yourself: Am I truly solving the right problem? #Leadership #OrganizationalDevelopment #ProblemSolving #HybridWorkforce #Culture

We solve the wrong problems – and That is the Real Problem at Work   Many executives spend a large amount of their time firefighting. Often, they are trying to solve the right problem. The classic case is that of Kodak, which once dominated the photographic industry worldwide. It had pioneered digital technologies well before their competitors, yet the leadership wanted to stick to the legacy of inexpensive camera with expensive consumables (film and paper) for high margins. Kodak’s initial reluctance to embrace and commercialize its own digital inventions caused a rapid erosion of its market share. It launched competitive digital cameras late - in the 2000s. They tried to perfect their digital technology while losing money on the cameras sold. The real problem wasn't that they needed better digital cameras—it was that the business model had shifted from selling cameras to selling services and software. What is the lesson we can take? Before diving into any solution, invest some time asking "What problem am I really solving?" It is useful to have separate discussions on defining the problem first, and having identified it, then working on finding solutions. Ensure you are looking at the root cause and not the symptoms of the problem. Write down multiple versions of the problem statement. Brainstorm and iterate. Version one might be "Our team misses deadlines." Version two becomes "Our team receives unclear project requirements." Version three reveals "Our team lacks a standardized way to prioritize competing requests." This simple exercise stops you from building elaborate solutions for surface-level symptoms. It prevents you from becoming the person who automates a broken process instead of fixing it; or optimizes something that shouldn't exist. Pick your biggest work challenge. Check whether you have defined problem statement correctly. You'll find yourself solving the root cause instead of chasing endless symptoms.   Picking the right problem leads to simpler solutions. Would love to hear your experience where you had to redefine your problem statement. 

Are you solving the wrong problem? Solving the wrong problem feels productive but quietly compounds failure. You burn time, resources, and credibility while the real issue continues to grow, often becoming harder and more expensive to solve. Worse, you may optimize the wrong solution, reinforcing bad assumptions and creating the illusion of progress. This leads teams to get stuck treating symptoms, not causes. To identify the correct problem, start by separating symptoms from root causes. 1. Ask “what must be true for this to happen?” and keep drilling down. 2. Reframe the problem multiple ways and test each against evidence, not intuition alone. Seek disconfirming data, not just supporting data. 3. Talk to people closest to the issue. Map cause-and-effect relationships. 4. Define success clearly. If solving the "problem" does not lead to an outcome that matters, you are likely trying to "solve" the wrong problem. #problemsolving #understanding #progress

𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀. —𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸; 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙪𝙯𝙯𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙋𝙍. When I face an overwhelming problem—the kind that demands “bold visions” or “massive refactors”—I stop. Instead, I ask: What’s the smallest meaningful unit in this chaos? (𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴.) Can I carve the monster into smaller, digestible creatures? What’s one piece I can fix today—without waiting for permission? This isn’t theory. It’s how I solve real SDV problems. 𝗔 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (Multiple runtimes, domains, SoCs—a beast, until disassembled.) 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗽𝗲𝗹: → Single source of truth for communication contracts. → IDLs that scale across runtimes and protocols (evaluate ruthlessly). → Protocol mapping — right tool for each path: - AUTOSAR → Performance Core: SOME/IP (stateful) or PDUs (deterministic) - Performance Core → Infotainment: gRPC over TCP/IP (reliable services), or UDP for low-latency streams - Intra-Performance Core: Shared Memory IPC (zero-copy, no serialization) → Data brokers? Only where unavoidable — and auto-generate them. → Software structure: isolate building blocks like a virologist. 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹: → Build reference platforms in parallel — virtual and real. - Virtual first: simulators/VMs to validate logic early - Hardware second: test timing, I/O, Layer 2 quirks → Never wait for full hardware. It’s expensive. And late. 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 — 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺. #SoftwareDefinedVehicle #SystemArchitecture #ShiftLeft #Middleware #EmbeddedSystems

Imagine you're telling an acquaintance you're having a rough day. You start explaining: your job, your stress, the thing that happened this morning. Before you're even halfway through, they cut in: "Here’s what you should do." You smile. Nod politely. But you're not receiving it. Because they don't actually know what's going on yet. They heard the surface. They skipped to the surface-level response. That's drive-by solutioning. And it's how most nonprofits do strategy. Design thinking has a name for this: drive-by solutioning. It's when you skip empathy. Skip defining the real problem, and go straight to the answer. Our sector does this constantly. A community is struggling. We see it. We care about it. But if we're not careful, within 90 days we'll have a new program, a new initiative, a new set of flyers going up in the wrong places advertising the wrong message to the wrong people. This happens all. the. time. Great intention. Wrong solution. Why do we keep getting this wrong? Because we rarely stop long enough to actually ask which specific part of the problem we should be solving. Here's a better way. First: Empathize. Get close enough to the actual humans experiencing the problem that their reality changes yours. Second: Define. Separate the presenting problem from the real one. They are almost never the same. Third: Solve. Only now. With everything you just learned. Now let's say that acquaintance on the street had said: "Is that something you want to talk about?" And you said yes. And they asked a few more questions. And then they said, "I've experienced something like that before. Here's what worked for me — I don't know if it fits your situation, but..." You might have actually heard it. Same concept. Different sequence. Completely different outcome. At DC Design, this process is the core of our strategic planning process. We work with nonprofits to make sure we've defined the problem correctly. That takes a little more time, but it's infinitely more effective. We've learned that when you skip the empathy phase because you think you already know, you miss the most important information needed to solve the problem.

The problem you see… is rarely the real problem. That’s where the Iceberg Model comes in. In most organizations, what we react to are only the visible “events” — Defects, delays, customer complaints, machine breakdowns. But beneath the surface, much bigger forces are driving those events. ⸻ Here’s how the Iceberg Model works: 🔹 Events (What happened): Customer return due to defective product. 🔹 Patterns (What keeps happening): Recurring defects every month in production. 🔹 Systemic Structures (The process behind it): Lack of preventive maintenance, poor training, unclear inspection criteria. 🔹 Mental Models (Beliefs & assumptions): “We don’t have time for training.” “Inspection will catch any issue.” “Maintenance is too expensive.” ⸻ You can’t solve surface problems with surface actions. The deeper you go, the more leverage you have. Solving a single defect won’t change your plant. Changing how people think about prevention will. When was the last time you went below the waterline in your problem-solving?

80% of solving a problem is simply making a decision. Most people stay stuck not because the problem is difficult — but because they delay choosing what to do. Here’s my 60-minute framework to break through any problem. Fast. Focused. Clear. ⏰ Minutes 0–10: Define the real problem What we think is the issue… usually isn’t. Clarity here can save you weeks of wasted energy. ⏰ Minutes 10–20: Break it down What’s in your control? Where does it actually get stuck? Suddenly, it feels manageable. ⏰ Minutes 20–35: Brainstorm solutions Dump every idea. Don’t filter. Don’t judge. Look for patterns, combinations, and fresh angles. ⏰ Minutes 35–50: Choose your path Ask yourself: → Can I realistically do this? → Can I do it fast? → Will it solve the root cause? ⏰ Minutes 50–60: Take action Pick one small step. Do it today. No overthinking. Just move. I use this every time I feel stuck — whether it’s a product decision, a team issue, or a strategic question. A problem clearly stated is a problem half solved. Give yourself 60 minutes, and you’ll be surprised how much power you actually have. ♻️ Steal this cheat sheet as a reminder. ☝️ And follow me, Victoria Repa, for more.

The Discipline of Slowing Down Before Solving Good solutions rarely begin with answers. They begin with clarity. Most problems don’t arrive neatly packaged. Some are at a very early stage and some have already grown into something big. Few are simply projected to be massive because of noise, panic, or incomplete understanding. What I have learned is that process definition is non-negotiable. If you don’t slow down to understand the problem properly, you end up solving the wrong thing with great efficiency. I always start by peeling layers. Dissecting the situation, asking uncomfortable questions, separating what is real from what is assumed. This step is not about speed or action and rather, it is about discipline. Many times, what looks like the problem is only a symptom. And what feels urgent is often just loud. Until you break it down layer by layer, you don’t really know where the problem ends and where the noise begins. Only after this dissection does the real problem reveal itself. #SystemsThinking #LeadershipLessons #ProblemSolving Image Credit: Google Nano Banana

How to find a real problem worth solving? Most people struggle because they sell services. They sell designs, websites, or SEO. The issue is simple. Clients are not looking for services. They are looking for outcomes. No one wants “SEO.” They want more leads. No one wants a website. They want trust, sales, or fewer support issues. If you want better and higher-paying clients, stop starting with your skills. Start with people’s problems. You are not paid for how hard you work. You are paid for how much pain you remove. Here is how to find the right problem: - Choose a problem where your solution creates clear value - Look for areas where the client is losing money, time, or credibility - Notice tasks they avoid or complain about and find automated ways - Watch client conversations, posts, and reviews. Pain shows up there The idea is simple. Do not think like someone waiting for instructions. Think like a professional who understands the problem and offers the right solution. Effort alone does not attract money. Value does.