The Problems We Solve Matter

Perhaps the most accurate common denominator for all people is that we face problems. The better we become at facing and resolving problems, the more opportunity we are given in life. This is the irony of success. People often think that being successful means you no longer have problems. That isn’t the case, though. The truth is the more successful you become, the more advanced the problems you are given to solve.

You could think of life as a giant problem-resolution game. Our very wiring as humans is set to push us toward resolving a problem that means something to us. We start businesses to solve a problem for a customer. We start a non-profit to solve a problem for someone in need. We do everything we do because of problems. So, why are people so upset when they face a problem?

My thought is that we have been falsely conditioned to believe that we can only be happy when we have no problems to face. In behavioral research conducted over the last 50 years, it has been conclusively demonstrated that all animals need a problem to solve. When mice have no problems to solve, no mazes to run, they devolve into chaos and destruction. When people have no problems to solve, and no mission to pursue, they do the same thing. I would argue that happiness and fulfillment actually come from solving problems that matter to us.

On the other side of that, unhappiness and a lack of fulfillment are the result of solving problems that don’t matter to us. This is the tricky part. In business, the profitability of the company matters to the owner, CEO, and top executives. It doesn’t matter to the rest of the team. It doesn’t matter because that isn’t the problem they want to solve. Nurses in hospitals care about taking care of a patient and about doing so in a safe and engaging culture. Store clerks care about helping customers find the things they need and doing so in a safe and engaging culture.

The mission of a company isn’t to make money, unless you’re in the counterfeit business, I guess. The mission of a business is to solve a problem. When you are really good at solving that problem, lots of people want to give you money to solve it. This is because the value of their money is less than the value of your resolution. When we understand that we are designed to solve problems and that the goods or services we provided must solve a problem, the finances seem to work themselves out.

Go out today and find an important problem to solve. Keep your focus on the exchange of value through the resolution of a problem, and you will find that success has been knocking, just waiting to be let in.