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NORMAN WRIGHT's blog OPINION
A Problem Statement about Problem Statements
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Monday, November 4, 2013 - 3:57am PST by NORMAN WRIGHT
Government / Politics
Back i n September, Todd Li tman had a great piece about problems
being relabeled as i ssues. Thi s exposes one of the more rampant
issues (pun intended) we have in our professi on: weak wri ting. But it
also helped me crystallize something Ive thought about for qui te some
ti me: could it be that problems are not important? They are inevitable,
these problemswhen we solve one, another ri ses up to take its
placebut are they important? Do they deserve so much of our attention?
Some problems are simply a matter of perspective. We agonize over congestion on the
DC Beltway whi le forgetti ng that dead horses once clogged our streets. Other problems
are so vast and nebulous that we get lost in the complexity (e.g., sustainability). And when
we create our plans, the subject of problems takes up a great deal of focus.
That s the approach weve used, anyway, ever since we adopted that hoary old chestnut
known as THE RATIONAL PLANNING MODEL.
I i magine you know this one by heart: it starts by collecting data, then analyzing data, then
defining problems, then developing soluti ons, then developing alternatives to those
solutions, then desi gni ng a way to implement sai d soluti ons, and at some poi nt you have
a plan. Maybe.
I have written virtually all of my plans in this fashion. I d wager that we all have. And many
ti mes, these plans take hundredsmaybe thousandsof hours to complete. How much of
that time i s spent defi ning the problem? Theres no fi rm measure but I am certain that we
spend at least half our time in this manner. We develop the data inventories, report the
fi gures, extrapolate future conditions, debate the problems and sometimes even debate
the li teral definiti on for each problem. If were lucky, all this work leads to consensus on
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the problems. If were extraordi narily fortunate, everyone wi ll understand them, too.
But lets think about the opportunity cost that comes with this approach. Every minute of
thought gi ven to problems equals one minute of thought *not* given to soluti ons.
So we have an inverse relationshi p between problems and solutions. And since peoples
focus and energy are li mited, the more we spend on problems, the less we spend on
solutions, which leaves us even less to spend on implementation.
Psychologists have been aware of thi s dynami c for decades. In their profession,
conventi onal talk therapy involves long, ti me-consuming explorations of a patient s
problemsthe ori gins of thei r troubles, the nuances of thei r frustrati ons. Often times, thei r
sessi ons are nothing more than quiet observance as patients vent their frustrations. It can
be cathartic but i t isnt (typically) very helpful. Substantive, actionable solutions dont ari se
quickly in thi s approach. By the ti me solutions are di scovered, the pati ent has i nvested
too much energy (and money) to exercise the necessary will to change.
Sounds famili ar, doesn t it?
From this dilemma, a new source of briefer, more focused approaches came about in the
1950s, including a method known as solutions-based therapy. From Wikipedi a: The
[solution-based therapy] approach focuses on the past only in order to acti vate
conversations about resources and past successes. Predominantly, it purposeful ly
activates and focuses conversations on the present and future.
This approach to therapy does not delve into the past very much; it does not focus on
problems. In fact, the central appli cati on i nvolves a technique whereby the patient
imagi nes the problems dont even exi st! This techni que i s known as The Miracle
Question. Here i s an example of the question, again from Wikipedia:
The counselor may ask,
"If you woke up tomorrow, and a miracle happened so that you no l onger easil y lost
your temper, what would you see differently? What would the first signs be that the
mi racle occurred?"
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The cl ient, in thi s exampl e, (a chi ld) may respond by sayi ng,
"I would not get upset when somebody calls me names."
As you see, there is no real talk about the problemor even the miracle that resolved the
problem. Instead, there i s a visuali zati on of success and then the search for signs that the
success has happened. Often times, the exercise gives the patient the solution right
away. In our example, the sign of success i s also the soluti on: the cli ent shouldnt get
upset when someone calls them names. This exerci se shows the pati ent, through their
own personal discovery, that they are capable of solving the problem. In just two minutes.
Leavi ng lots of ti me and energy to apply it.
Here s how thi s technique can work in our professi on:
Imagi ne youre doing a plan to revi talize the downtown. Without a single discussion of
problems or data or anythi ng else, start by asking your client and/or committee the
mi racle question:
If you woke up tomorrow and a mi racle happened so that the downtown was instantly
revitali zed, what would be di fferent? What would be the first clue that the mi racle
occurred?
If the client says somethi ng tangible like, The buildings would be rehabilitated, then you
should start desi gni ng a modest building rehabi litati on program.
If the client says somethi ng more enigmatic like, The streets are full of people, then prod
a little further and ask: What has placed the people on the streets? If they say
si dewalks, you should start desi gni ng a (modest) capital improvement project.
See how it works? Wi th this approach, we can bypass all the problem definitions and
data i nventories and go di rectly to the thing that matters most of all: creati ng posi tive
change. Instead of spendi ng half our time (or more) delvi ng i nto problems, we spend all
our ti me developi ng a better future. The planning effort gai ns real focus, occupies less
ti me, and simply becomes more fun.
In conclusion, here i s a fundamental truth: knowledge of a problem does not create
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change. Consi der the smoking doctor. There are doctorsboard-certified medi cal doctors
who smoke. If anyone knows the dangers of smoking, it is this select group of people.
Yet some of them continue to smoke.
Only knowledge of a soluti on, combined wi th the wi ll to carry i t out, can make change
possi ble. And the sooner you discover the soluti on, the more likely you are to pursue it
whether it is for yourself or your city. So next time you start a planning effort, consi der
using theshall we sayTHE SOLUTIONS-BASED PLANNING MODEL instead of that
crusty old rational model. Imagi ne a miracle occurs where that thing gets tossed asi de.
You can already pi cture a better future.
Norman Wright, AICP, is the Director of Development Services for Columbia, Tennessee