Possibilities beyond current realities. A progression on how to systematically problem-solve and inn

Possibilities beyond our current realities, a progression of how we can systematically problem-solve and innovate, came to me as I faced a personal and challenging challenge. One which forced me to step ‘outside of my reality’ to be able to see the ‘other’ endless possibilities, and was instrumental in solving my very own insurmountable problem. In reality, both our professional and personal life will have to face harsh realities, at some time or another, which we cannot escape.

This practical approach can be used at a personal level or with our team, in allowing ‘unknown possibilities’ as an innovative and creative approach for generating alternative solutions to complex problems. For instance:

We may have to face the reality of starting a dream business and soon learn that great companies don’t stay afloat (or thrive by that matter) by just ‘feeding the dream,’ but rather by ‘starving the costs’ that threaten the survival of the enterprise in perusing said dream.

We could face the reality of losing hold of someone we love, coping with the pain of rejection, all the while as we gain the wisdom within 'letting go' and learning to trust others once more. Alternatively, at one point in life, we will face the reality of losing that ‘one job’ that shakes you to the core and destabilized your mental health and career aspirations.

This ‘realities’ take many shapes and forms, surrounding the 'problems' we come to encounter day in and day out. We’ll know we’ve reached such a unique problem when the realization to reevaluate and redefine who we admittedly are, is the only thing preoccupying your thoughts.

It is then when we discover within us, in some sorts of supernatural way, that we are all capable of solving problems way beyond our 'known' capabilities. We may even gain new perspective while solving insurmountable problems, but one thing is constant, we learn that there are new and endless opportunities, boundless possibilities, outstanding options, that were not visible then, which are now part of this ‘new horizon’. Surprisingly, we would have never seen these alternate solutions until we were pushed outside our comfort zone by a problem of all things.

This lesson was precious and extremely valuable in my professional growth. I was able to reapply this same principle over the years in seeking alternate solutions to difficult challenges both at work, with teams and in solving problems overall — problems which seemed unsolvable at the time.

To start this progression, we must be cognizant of what are the full facts around the problem as we know it. The reality of the 'problem' we face is ‘time-bound’ so it is easier to ‘gather the facts’ by looking ‘back-in-time’ to find said facts. Nevertheless, please stay away from the temptation of arriving at simple deductions or inferences from the facts gathered as they can sway us to jump into universal and simplistic solutions that limit the potential to unveil other possibilities.

Again, ‘gather the facts!’. Every problem has ‘Known knowns’ (knowledge, skills, facts, sciences, laws, events, raw data) which we can gather to paint a fuller picture of what is well known, understood and documented. In progressing systematically towards an alternate possibility, a full high definition picture of reality ‘as-is’ is highly desirable.

The goal at this stage is not to find the root cause. Root cause analysis (RCA) and other troubleshooting tools have their place in life and can be used to understand how we arrived at the current problem in question, but we are most interested in the ‘alternate’ destination; i.e., the systematic progression of how we can be open to new possibilities for solving our current problem.

Then, ‘understand the limitations’! We have to work a bit harder to get to the ‘Known Unknowns’ (universal facts, sciences, laws, unexplained, limitations, what is lacking, creativity or lack thereof, and so on), the things we know that we lack knowledge of or the ‘stuff’ which are indeed the ‘current realistic’ limiting factors of the problem. If the perceived limitations or boundaries of the problem are well defined, we can then recognize when we are stepping away from the ‘current reality’ into the ‘alternative possibilities.’

Remember, this is the realm of the ‘known unknowns,’ of things we think we know well but cannot determine with 100% certainty if it is a contributing factor to making the problem possible or in even if they may or may not be critical contributors to solving the problem.

Once this first effort is complete, allow room for not only the imagination (creativity and ingenuity) but the infinite ’greater’ alternatives in creating possible solutions. Those alternate possibilities, which we may have never know existed until we wondered in the realm of such endless possibilities, may seem outlandish at first.

Finally, re-engineer your mind as to how we frame alternate solutions. This may sound a bit out of left field but understand that many things that we take for granted today were impossible or even un-achievable at some time in recent history. It is amazing to learn how many of the most significant questions in life, and industry also, have been answered by what we think are ‘accidents’! We fail to realize that said accidents came about active collaboration and cross-pollination of ideas, and creative ‘in-the-box’ and ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking. How can this be possible by mere coincidence? Is not.

When we think of something as being possible, the ‘possible’ is not time bound. When we think of what’s possible, we open the probability of new things, new ideas, new solutions, new initiatives that are realistically ‘Unknown’ in the present (due to our limitations or subject matter expertise, untapped creativity, or even impossible as a possible alternative due to current external limitations). Moreover, possibilities that are ‘Unknown unknowns’ (knowledge in the realm of the universe, the infinite, and or imagination) are universal power cells that have the potential of releasing such unimagined possibilities. This rare untapped resource we have at our disposal, call it God or energy, allows us to design unthinkable solutions to what we may perceive as unsolvable problems.

Crazy talk we may say. Admittedly this sounds too abstract to be applicable in real life but allow me to illustrate my point. The car industry, the evolution of glasses to contact lenses to Lasik surgery, energy as we know it, space technology, nanotechnology, and so forth. All had significant 'realities' which defined the problems at that time in history, The realities of those problems seemed impossible to solve given the known unknowns. None of the current possibilities would have been a possibility if someone did not allow themselves to think of the said unlikely possibility. Pushing self beyond that comfort zone allowed for a new perspective or approach to solving the problem beyond it's known reality into the realm of what was possible.

Sure, sticking to problem-solving within the realm of realistic possibilities is safe and sound, we have the sciences which allow us to have reliable tools which we can use time and time again. What I propose is actively exploring those possibilities which rise beyond current realities, seek beyond ‘optimizing’ problem-solving to the point that we develop analysis paralysis, and open our minds to the ‘endless’ possibilities found in the universe, which becomes most apparent in the midst of adversity. Allow for the impossible to be possible by exploring the opportunities beyond our current reality!

#BusinessOptimization #Possibilities #Perspective #Optimization #theothersideofthecoin #innovate #Problemsolve