If It’s Not Solving A Problem, It’s Probably Creating One

If It’s Not Solving A Problem, It’s Probably Creating One

Organizations have a way of accumulating things.

Another meeting gets added. Another report gets created. Another piece of software gets purchased. Another approval gets added to the process. Another spreadsheet starts circulating. Another system gets put in place.

Usually, all of these things started with good intentions and at some point, they were designed to solve a problem.

But here’s the question leaders need to keep asking: Is it still solving the problem?

Because if something isn’t solving a problem, there’s a good chance it’s creating one.

Everything Has a Cost

Every system, process, meeting, technology, and procedure costs something.

It costs time.

It costs attention.

It costs energy.

It costs money.

It costs mental bandwidth.

That cost may be worth it if the thing is actually solving a meaningful problem. But when it stops solving the problem, the cost remains. That’s when solutions slowly become problems themselves.

A new software platform was supposed to make communication easier, but now people have to enter the same information in three different places.

A weekly meeting was created to keep everyone aligned, but now everyone sits through an hour discussing information they could have read in five minutes.

A report was designed to give leadership visibility, but nobody actually uses the information to make decisions.

A process was created to ensure quality, but it has become so complicated that it slows everyone down.

We keep doing these things because “that’s what we do.” But great leaders don’t protect processes simply because they exist. They protect results. They challenge assumptions. They push against the status quo.

Beware of Organizational Clutter

Think about a garage…

You start with plenty of space. Then, over time, you begin putting things in it. A box here. A tool there. Something you might need someday. Something you forgot you even owned. Eventually, the garage becomes so full that you can barely use it for what it was originally designed to do.

Organizations can work the same way.

We accumulate systems, meetings, procedures, technology, reports, and expectations until our people spend more time managing the organization than accomplishing the mission.

That, right there, is organizational clutter. And leaders have to be willing to clean the garage.

Ask One Simple Question

Take a look at everything your organization does and ask: What problem does this solve?

Ask it about your meetings. What problem does this meeting solve?

Ask it about your technology. What problem does this software solve?

Ask it about your reports. What problem does this report solve?

Ask it about your policies and procedures. What problem does this process solve?

If you can clearly identify the problem and the system is effectively solving it, great. Keep it.

But if nobody can explain why you are doing something other than, “We’ve always done it this way,” it deserves another look and possibly getting rid of it.

Simplification Is a Leadership Responsibility

Leaders sometimes think adding something is the answer.

We need better communication, so let’s add a meeting.

We need better accountability, so let’s add a report.

We need better organization, so let’s add another piece of software.

But adding something doesn’t automatically solve something.

Sometimes the best leadership decision isn’t to add.

It’s to eliminate.

Eliminate the duplicate report.

Eliminate the unnecessary meeting.

Eliminate the extra step.

Eliminate the technology nobody needs.

Eliminate the process that creates more work than value.

Every unnecessary thing you remove gives your people more capacity to focus on the things that actually matter.

Become a Solution-Based Organization

The goal isn’t to have the most systems.

It isn’t to have the newest technology.

It isn’t to have the most meetings, processes, reports, or procedures.

The goal is to solve problems.

Everything you put in place should make something better. It should make things faster, clearer, easier, more effective, more consistent, or more valuable.

And leaders should continually audit whether that is actually happening.

Make it a habit to ask: What problem was this designed to solve?

Is it actually solving it?

Is there a simpler way to solve it?

What problems might this solution be creating?

The best organizations aren’t necessarily the ones doing the most. They are the ones doing the right things. So take a look around your organization. You may discover that the next breakthrough doesn’t require adding another solution. It might simply require removing something that has quietly become the problem.

If it isn’t solving a problem, it’s probably creating one.