Published June 2021
Chapter One: The Solution is Impact
It is the most human thing to take a problem and try to solve it. As a child, I built model cars, planes, and ships. I’d open the box and there before me were all these little plastic pieces. I would read through the assembly page and then start. The chaos in the box was a promise that order could be created in the form of a B-29 World War Two era bomber like the one my father flew in during the war. The focus, the initial frustration, and the trial and error of learning how to solve the problem of the mess in the box led to a genuine sense of accomplishment. I’ve been solving problems ever since.
Even my children noticed. My oldest son, when he was ten, told an adult who asked him what his father did, said: “Dad talks people into having problems and offers to fix them.” Yes! Precisely right.
One of my fondest childhood memories of my father was the year that we spent assembling a short-wave radio. Usually Sunday afternoons, we’d go upstairs to my parent's bedroom where on the family’s card table were all the components. Step by step we’d solder connections. Never knowing, always hoping, that we had done it correctly. When we were done, we plugged the radio in, turned it on, and magically, we picked up the BBC World Service. To solve the problem of assembly, the final outcome was always on our mind.
When I am writing, I go to bed early, wake up after a few hours of sleep, and go sit at my desk to write for an hour or so, then return to bed. It is a regular pattern for me. One night after finishing the first draft of this book, I woke up realizing that my book on problem-solving had become a problem. Something was missing.
Many times as a child building a model car the same thing happened. I’d end up with extra parts. The problem with assembly was that I ignored parts that didn’t make sense. As a result, the model was never complete, never perfect. I’ve heard artists say a book, a painting, or a film is never complete, just abandoned. I wasn’t ready to do that. Because the problem of the book was not the book, but me. My own perception was far more limited than I actually knew when I sat down to write.
There were two things missing. One was a description of different ways to solve problems.
The other was a description of who we are as people who are problem solvers.
What was missing? The joy of problem-solving. The creative process of problem-solving. I was so wrapped up in trying to help people find ways to solve their problems, I forget about why.
What follows is a book on the creative process of problem-solving. The book in your hand or illuminated on your device is the product of the solution that I sought in writing. May all your problems find solutions, and may your solutions bring joy and satisfaction.
Why We Solve Problems
The awareness begins with an impression or a comment by someone. In that moment, we know that there is a problem. How do we know? Something isn’t quite right. Something is missing, out-of-kilter, misaligned, or simply, broken. We listen for the logic of some appeal or argument and it doesn’t make sense. If you are aware, you will see problems. This is not a negative thing. It means you can see the world beyond the surface of things. You can see both the wholeness of the world and its brokenness. Seeing the latter and knowing the former places us in a position to be people of impact.
Being aware is where this creative process begins. We are aware of the parts that aren’t fitting or are missing. The question is “Do we want to solve this problem?” Our awareness is not just about the problem. We see the context. We see why it is a problem. We see the impact of the problem. This awareness is a real power to make a difference.
People who are unaware are dependent on other people and institutions to do for them what they will not do for themselves. Are they unaware because they choose to ignore the problems occurring right in front of them? They don’t want to see problems. Like the proverbial ostrich, they stick their head in the sand hoping the problem will go away. It is a fearful way to live. Always dependent, hoping that people and institutions have their best interests in mind.
This is a reason why people are resistant to change. Without awareness and the willingness to solve problems, fear and a lack of self-confidence can come to dominate our lives. We begin to look for people to blame for our problems. Each step in this direction magnifies each problem we face.
If this is where you are. If you are living in fear. If you are afraid of breaking some rule. If you are unsure about who you are, and what your future life is going to be. Then, you need to begin to solve the problems that have walled you in from the life of impact that is waiting to be realized.
Impact is a change that makes a difference that matters. Impact comes from solving problems. Solving problems is creating change. The change in us is a clearer perspective, greater self-confidence in facing the challenges that come with life.
My friend Emmanuel is a pastor of a church in a poor community near Kampala, Uganda. When his country was locked down because of the global pandemic, he asked me what he should do. The people in his community were hungry. Some were starving. I suggested that he go to his local elected officials and tell them that if they got the food, he would distribute it. He did and together they fed their people.
Was the problem solved? No. It was a one-time arrangement. As the saying goes, “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.”
Knowing this, Emmanuel rented land. Planted maize in early summer and with a crew of helpers harvested food for his people. He is now looking at a new, larger tract of land to rent. Now the problem is where to find the equipment to farm it. The pastor became a farmer because his people were hungry. He took responsibility to solve their problem in a creative way. He is now moving to the next level of solution.
We solve problems because we can. It is part awareness, part creativity, and part being a person of responsibility. It is a solution to a life of fear and dependence.
Not far from where Emmanuel lives, across the border in Kenya, a group of forty-five women are in a program learning to farm. They came together to meet me and talk about what they were learning. They begin with one chicken, advance to vegetable gardens, dairy cows, and, ultimately, forestry as they acquire land.
As I interviewed them, they talked about taking responsibility for the welfare of their families. Their goal in solving this problem through farming was to be self-sufficient and interdependent. By learning to farm, they were learning to not be dependent and live in fear of the crime that comes with idleness.
On that day, these poor women from a rural corner of Africa became my teachers. Through them, I could see problems that I had avoided that because I reasoned, I had more important things to do. A link to my interview with them can be found in the resources section at the end of the book. If you feel that your life is not self-sufficient and interdependent with your family and neighbors, then you have a problem that you can begin to address.