The Nature of Problems

I enjoy KenKen puzzles with my morning coffee as a fun way to wake up my brain. KenKen is a logic puzzle designed to build both logic and problem-solving skills using basic math operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Sometimes, when time allows, I tackle the big 8 x 8 version of the puzzle which is a real challenge. It’s very satisfying when the final numbers fall into place and I’ve arrived at the final solution.

Part of the fun of KenKen is that every puzzle is different yet each can be solved with one unique solution. Also, because of the consistency of its structure and logic, you can get better and better at KenKen with practice. This is what makes KenKen problems different from the type of problems we face at work — the kind that seem unusually difficult to figure out or impossible to solve — the ones called “wicked” problems.

Whenever you begin to notice organizational confusion, discord or a general lack of progress toward common goals, that is a signal that there may an underlying wicked problem that must be addressed. These problems are sometimes hard to identify because of incomplete information, contradictory circumstances, and changing environments. They usually also involve multiple stakeholders or groups with different needs. Wicked problems are both technically complicated and socially complex, and they are often associated with change.

I enjoy KenKen problems, but I’m fascinated by wicked workplace problems. This is why I was drawn to the field of organization development (OD). Wicked problems must be approached with an “OD mindset,” a multi-disciplinary, integrated, way of thinking that can be used to address all kinds of problems in organizations.

Wickedness isn’t a degree of difficulty, it is a difference in nature. Wicked problems can’t be resolved using conventional approaches. They’re the opposite of the KenKen puzzles that can be solved in a finite period of time by applying well-understood logic and techniques. Wicked problem have innumerable causes, they’re tough to describe, and don’t have right or wrong answers. And, not only will conventional thinking and processes fail to solve wicked problems, they could exacerbate situations by generating undesirable consequences.

No one should be shocked to find so many wicked problems in the workplace. They are what’s left when the KenKen-like problems have been solved. Wicked problems call for an under-represented way of thinking — an “OD Mindset” – a holistic way of interpreting and making sense of organizations and the people in them.