It Looks Easier From The Outside

Blurry
Things can look clear with certain views but can get blurry quick when you are up close. From Yiming Zhong’s Flickr photostream.

There’s a false empowerment that all of us feel with such ease of access to tools and people like never before. They fool us into thinking that things must be a bit easier. Things look easier from the outside.

However, when we get up close to a problem, there are so many nuances that can stump us. At the end of the day, your ability to design and architect a solution may be more important than ever. The talent gap is not necessarily in whether we can find a right solution. It is more about whether we can intimately understand and articulate a problem. This means we have to be able to see a problem clearly so we know what we are solving.

Often, people are taking in the pain of the problem in a visceral way. It’s hard to define specifically what is wrong. They just know something is wrong and they want to get rid of it. The allure of pain pills in the form of easy access tools and systems creates some comfort, but there can be disappointment because there’s the gap. Your business and problems have something acute that just doesn’t fit in a one-size-fits-all mode. The outside view doesn’t tell us all the unique things that are required.

Before assuming a fix for the pain, spend extra time delving into the specificity of what is wrong. This helps the consultant, advisor or technician to get to the root and ensure there is a wholesome and thorough design for the problem at hand. It moves from generalization to something custom and specific.

This is the value of an outsider to a problem. They are not myopic nor biased. They see what is happening for what it is. In this respect, the outside does look easier.

Thoughts? Feel free to comment.

Published by Don Dalrymple

I partner with founders and entrepreneurs in startup businesses. I write and consult on strategy, systems, team building and growing revenue.

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