April 2000

June 1999

PARTNERS FOR INNOVATION, INC.

www.partnersfi.com

Innovation Tips

…ideas for fostering collaborative innovation

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Solving the Problem or the Solution?

In your organization, are you solving the problem or your solution to the problem? The two are not always easy to separate. Too often, we make things overly complex by failing to fully assess and understand an underlying problem or mission.

A property manager, so the anecdote goes, needed to deal with tenant complaints about their long wait for elevators. She was presented with three alternatives, all costly: increase the speed of existing elevators, move the elevators or install new ones. Her solution? None of the above.

Perceiving that the real problem was tenant dissatisfaction while waiting and not the need to move the elevators more quickly, she installed mirrors in the lobby. The mirrors gave people something to focus on (themselves) while waiting and the complaints ceased.

The following parable about an investment banker and a fisherman also illustrates the point memorably. The next time you are about to expend vast amounts of time, money or energy on solving an organizational problem, think of this parable and ask, “Am I solving the problem, or my solution to the problem?”

An investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The banker complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The fisherman replied, “Only a little while.” The investment banker then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish. The fisherman said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The banker then asked what he did with the rest of his time.

The fisherman said, "I sleep late, play with my children, fish a little, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life."

The banker scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then L.A. and eventually New York City where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?" The banker replied, "15-20 years." "But what then?" The banker laughed and said “Oh! That's the best part! When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions!"

"Millions? Then what?"

"Then you would retire, move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

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