A Journey of Thought: Should You Start with the 'Issue' or Not?

What is that work for?

When you step into the office in the morning, there is a mountain of tasks on your desk.
Email notifications ring out one after another, and your meeting schedule is packed.

You are working hard on the tasks right in front of you again today.

But I would like you to stop for a moment and think.

"What on earth am I doing this work for?"

Many people are so busy completing the "To-Do" list given to them that they tend to skip the fundamental questions of "Why?" or "What is the problem?" regarding that work.

It is like drawing lines from one end of a map to the other without even knowing the destination.

That is the theme I would like to delve into with you all today,

"Should you start with the issue, or not?"

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This question is a phrase often heard in business books, but it is actually a very essential inquiry that is deeply related to our daily lives as well.

Now, let's go on a journey of thought together.

1. The philosophy of "starting with the issue"

"Starting with the issue" is, simply put, an approach where you thoroughly identify "what is the problem that truly needs to be solved (the issue)" before thinking about specific solutions.

For example, suppose a company's sales are declining.
Many people tend to jump straight to solutions like "let's develop a new product," "let's increase advertising," or "let's lower prices."
However, those who "start with the issue" first stop.

"Why are sales declining?"

Have customer needs changed?
Has a competitor released a powerful new service?
Or was the target audience off-base to begin with?

This question of "why?" is the issue itself.

Let's compare it to a baseball game.
A pitcher throws the ball to strike out the batter.
However, just throwing a fast ball blindly increases the risk of being hit.
An excellent pitcher thinks about the issue: "What is this batter's weakness?" Are they bad at inside fastballs? Are they weak against breaking balls? By identifying the issue of the opponent's characteristics, they can throw the most effective pitch.

This approach reduces wasted effort and produces output that is truly valuable.
Just as a ship lost in the vast ocean relies on a compass to aim for its destination via the shortest route, we are guided toward certain results by the compass of the 'issue'.

2. The Pitfalls of Not Starting with the Issue

On the other hand, there is also the mindset of 'not starting with the issue'.
This is an approach that begins thinking from 'To Do' or 'How'.

A common example is the 'let's just try it' spirit.
At first glance, this seems like a good thing because it shows initiative, but it often leads to the tragedy of 'I worked hard, but in the end, I gained nothing'.

For example, suppose an engineering team at an IT company gets enthusiastic about 'introducing the latest AI technology' and spends a vast amount of time and money developing a system.
However, no one uses the completed system, and a few years later, it is gathering dust in the back of a warehouse.
This is because they ignored the issue of 'what problem are we solving?' and started with the means of 'just wanting to use the latest technology'.

This is like a situation where you have gathered the finest frying pans and seasonings to cook a high-quality steak, but no one actually wanted to eat meat in the first place.
Your cooking skills and the quality of your tools are wonderful, but there is no one to eat the food.
There is nothing sadder than this.

Taking the issue lightly carries the significant risk of misdirecting your efforts and wasting time and resources.

3. The Dangerous Side of Issue-Driven Thinking

So, is 'starting with the issue' always the right thing to do?

The answer is, 'it depends on the situation'.

There are also pitfalls to entering from the issue.
That is the case where 'you search for the perfect issue so much that you become unable to take any action'.

You spend too much time on analysis and miss a golden opportunity.

While you keep debating 'what is the essential problem?' in meetings, no concrete actions are decided at all.
This is like being unable to leave your house at all because you are too busy perfectly calculating 'which road will get me to my destination the fastest'.

If taken too far, issue-driven thinking causes 'analysis paralysis'.
The speed of change in modern society is fast, and there are many cases where it is too late if you wait to act until you have gathered all the information.

Also, issues do not necessarily exist in a clear form.
Especially when working in new fields or on problems that no one has solved yet, the issue itself may only be vaguely visible.

In such times, it becomes important to take small actions first and explore the issue in the process.

In other words, it is a hybrid thinking method of 'moving forward while searching for the issue'.

4. In the end, what should we do?

So, what should we do?

To conclude, while making 'starting with the issue' the first step of your thinking process, it is most important to maintain the flexibility not to become overly fixated on it.

First, before starting a task, stop for even just five minutes and ask yourself:

・ 'Whose problem is this work solving, and what kind of problem is it?'

・ 'If this work is successful, what will be the result?'

By making this questioning a habit, you will stop wasting time on useless tasks and be able to focus on work that creates more essential value.

It is fine if you cannot find the answer to the question immediately.
In that case, try a small experiment.
Then, based on the feedback obtained from the results, search for the issue again.

It is just like a detective gathering clues one by one to reveal the full picture of a case.

We build a better future while solving the puzzle of the truth known as the issue.

Book Introduction

・Start with the Issue [Revised Edition]: The 'Simple Essence' of Intellectual Production Kindle Edition
Kazuto Ataka (Author)
Eiji Press (2024/9/22)
An issue is something that satisfies both conditions of being 'a problem that has not been settled between two or more groups' and 'a problem that is fundamental or whose outcome is not clearly defined.' Most of what is considered a problem in the world is not an issue (a problem that should be settled at this stage). Truly valuable work begins with setting the issue.
(* Book descriptions, etc., are generally based on the descriptions provided at the link (Amazon). Please refer to the link for detailed content.)

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