Problems: if you don’t have any…get some, quick!

Problems: if you don’t have any…get some, quick!

Ya gotta’ problem?  Let’s hope so. 

While we tend to think of problems as something wrong, another way to think about it is: a gap between where you are and where you want to be, or: a gap between what you have and what you want. 

In other words, you should always have some gaps. There should always be something you still want to do, be, achieve, obtain, invent, discover…always another dream of some kind. Or, more simply, always another gap. Think about it: we are always seeing gaps—all around us, and in our own lives and selves. 

We’re just not always honest about it. “Everything’s good, all is well!” 

And still: what of the gaps?  They’re there, if we choose to see them. In fact, the more you tap into your creative spirit, the more gaps you’ll see. Or, another way to think about it is: the more dreams you’ll dream. The more futures you’ll envision. The more gaps you’ll want to traverse. This is, by the way, the way that humans are wired. There’s a reason that the Cro-Magnon survived while the Neanderthal did not: sensing and solving those gaps.

It’s the same for innovative organizations. Loaded with gaps. Both traditional problems that need to be solved, and those many broad problems: gaps to be spanned to reach that desired future. 

And when those are achieved, a few dozen more.  But I mean that in a good way.   It means there is good creative work to be done.   It means your organization is not dead. ’Cause, when there are no more gaps, it’s not because the thing is perfect; it’s because the thing is dead.

So: got any problems?