HBR's 10 Must Reads on Nonprofits and the Social Sectors (featuring "What Business Can Learn from Nonprofits" by Peter F. Drucker)

Are You Solving the Right Problem?

by Dwayne Spradlin

“IF I WERE GIVEN ONE HOUR to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it,” Albert Einstein said.

Those were wise words, but from what I have observed, most organizations don’t heed them when tackling innovation projects. Indeed, when developing new products, processes, or even businesses, most companies aren’t sufficiently rigorous in defining the problems they’re attempting to solve and articulating why those issues are important. Without that rigor, organizations miss opportunities, waste resources, and end up pursuing innovation initiatives that aren’t aligned with their strategies. How many times have you seen a project go down one path only ...