Shifting Focus from Problems to Progress
Why the progress space is not the problem space.
Last week, MAP’s reading group finished this season’s book, From What Is To What If, by Rob Hopkins.
Hopkins writes (emphasis mine):
I wrote this book because I wanted to put the imagination back at the heart of how we think about the future, and about what kind of future we might create, the future that is still possible to create … One of my favorite interviews was with performing artist, author, activist, and educator Dominique Christina, who told me how, in her opinion, all too often, when we are exploring how to address a problem, we become fixated on that problem: ‘ The problem is now in the centre of the room’, she told me. ‘Whatever is not working, or what is dysfunctional, is what’s taking up all the space… The brokenness [becomes] everything.’
This sums up why I stopped thinking in terms of “problem-space vs solution-space” and instead now talk in terms of progress-space and solution-space.
Maybe this is just parsing jargon — But it also seems to me there’s a big difference between focusing on “problems and needs” versus helping people become better versions of themselves or reimagining how organizations can provide that kind of support.
How much of your energy centers on solving rather than discovering and supporting? Are you able to reframe some portion of those efforts in a more positive light? Does the reframing ripple out into the tenor and results of your work?
As always, reply to this email to let me know your thoughts, or share your feelings here, or share all your thoughts and feelings in a comment on the blog.
Kyle
