The Key to Effective Problem-Solving: Balancing Obviousness and Complexity

Are you solving problems in a way that captures attention and makes people think?

Old architecture and new architecture divided diagonally by a line.

Have you ever put thought into how easy or complex your solution can be from a marketing and sales standpoint? 🤔

If you solve a non-obvious problem, you should come up with a relatively simple solution.

Conversely, if you solve a problem that is clear to everyone, you should come up with a non-obvious solution.

@christopherlochhead,  Katrina Kirtsch, Eddie Yoon (Category Pirates) keep writing about this, and I think more corporate innovators should know about it 🏴‍☠️

If you solve an obvious problem with an obvious solution, people may perceive it as too simple and believe they can solve it themselves.  😈

On the other hand, if you solve a non-obvious problem with a non-obvious solution, it may be too advanced for them to understand, making it even more challenging to understand the problem and its solution. 😵‍💫

You will probably say your timing is wrong.
You were too early with your solution.

But to be fair, you were probably solving a problem nobody saw with a solution nobody understood. ❌

The ideal combination is to address a non-obvious problem with an obvious solution or an obvious problem with a non-obvious solution.

Why?

The idea sticks; you make people stop and think.

- An obvious solution to an obvious problem is too easy and won’t make a difference.
- A non-obvious solution to a non-obvious problem is too hard to sell.



Don't create unicorns,
Let's breed blue whales.
🐋