The BIG Playbook Trap
For Solopreneurs, the BIG Playbook is Like Kryptonite
The Problem Mindset doesn’t just appear between your ears. It has an origin story. Like most origin stories, it goes back farther than you think.
You didn’t choose this mindset. You inherited it. It was handed to you the same way it was handed to everyone else, quietly, consistently, unquestioned. From school to corporate jobs, and entrepreneurial bookshelves, you were told the same thing:
Winning means finding the right problem and solving it. The bigger the problem, the bigger the win.
That script sounds noble, even logical. But for solopreneurs, it becomes a trap. You end up rowing in circles, chasing your personal White Whale. The big problem that, if you could just solve, would finally prove your worth. Instead of compounding wins, you build a brain trained to look for problems first.
That’s not a fair fight. The playbook you’ve been referencing has three commandments. While they look wise on paper, for solopreneurs they backfire, every time.
Commandment One: Look for Problems
This is the prime directive. The first question you hear everywhere: “What problem are you solving?”
It’s a fair question, but it’s the wrong one if it’s the only one you’re asking.
As Peter Drucker pointed out, true innovation is opportunity-based, not problem-based. Problems are part of the mix. One of seven sources of opportunity, in fact. But when you treat problems as the only doorway, you shrink your field of vision. It’s like walking into a house with seven open windows and only looking through one.
Here’s the danger. Your brain adapts to whatever you train it to do. Neuroplasticity makes sure of that. If you spend your days scanning for problems, your brain rewires itself into a problem-hunting machine. You become excellent at spotting flaws, gaps, and risks, but are blind to everything else.
With an Opportunity Mindset, you still see problems, but also notice pattern shifts, unexpected openings, and creative convergences. This broader vision fuels the solopreneur flywheel.
Think about the typical startup pitch video:
“This is Katie. Katie has a problem. She struggles with X. Our product solves it. Katie is happy.”
Now here’s my version:
“This is Ken. He was grinding without progress. Then he realized a problem is just another opportunity, so he innovated himself.”
I lived that shift. I developed my framework and proudly showed it to the BIG Industrial Complex. They smiled, nodded politely, and moved on. Why? Because they were fully invested in problem-first pipelines. Opportunity-first thinking wasn’t their game.
I had built it, and they didn’t come.
When you obsess over problems, you can start inventing them just to feel like you’re working on something important. I’ve seen solopreneurs tie themselves in knots chasing hypothetical problems that nobody asked them to solve. Completely ignoring the real opportunities right under their noses. I’ve seen them ideating to solve a problem without a clue of what their opportunity might be. The real question isn’t always, “What’s the problem?” The larger question is “What’s the opportunity?” That’s the trap of Commandment One.
Commandment Two: Make Something of Yourself
This commandment is sneakier. It whispers: “You’re not ready yet. But someday, you could be.”
So, you chase credentials. An MBA. A bootcamp. Another certification. One more course. One more badge.
Inside BIG, this makes sense. Promotions, raises, and titles hinge on credentials. The machine needs to recognize you before you can advance.
But clients don’t hire solopreneurs for badges. They hire you for value. They care about what you deliver, not what you hang on your wall.
The more you chase “If only I become X, then I can…”, the more you defer action. You wait instead of moving. While striving is noble, opportunities don’t wait for résumés. They’re here, now.
I’ve watched solopreneurs fall into this exact trap. It’s the build it and they will come fallacy. If only I get this certification, I’ll be “ready.” But there’s always another one, and shiny certifications tarnish quickly.
Opportunity doesn’t care about badges. It cares about readiness. The readiness of authentic action. I’m here to tell you that you are already ready.
I’m not saying all certifications are bad. In fact, one of the best decisions I ever made was becoming a Kolbe Certified Consultant. Why? Because it fit my wiring, my framework, and my coaching practice. It wasn’t about chasing a badge to prove myself. It was about doubling down on a tool that multiplied my strengths.
Commandment Three: Transform Gradually
The third commandment is the safest sounding of all: “Transform gradually.”
In BIG, that works. Slow and steady wins the race. Incremental improvement is responsible, trackable, reassuring. Shareholders love predictability.
But for solopreneurs, gradualism is deadly. Windows of opportunity open and close fast. If you inch forward, the window closes before you ever reach it.
Gradualism lulls you into the feeling of progress while you’re actually drifting. It’s the cousin of autopilot: linear, predictable, but blind to sudden shifts.
I know this personally. I reworked my framework for years. I kept tweaking, refining, delaying. Notebooks piled up. Drafts gathered dust. I told myself I was “improving” it. In reality, I was stalling. Gradualism nearly drowned me.
It reminds me of the day in the Marvel Bullpen when I was immersed in a new workflow idea. My friend walked by and simply said, “Ken, you’re overthinking.” And then he was gone.
Here’s the truth: tectonic change isn’t gradual. It’s rapid. It reshapes the landscape overnight. The solopreneur who’s scanning for opportunity and ready to pivot quickly is the one who catches the wave.
It’s like trying to catch a moving train by walking toward it. By the time you reach the platform, the opportunity is long gone.
That’s why neuroplasticity is the solopreneur’s best friend. The more you mindfully train your brain to look for opportunity, the more it rewires itself to notice. Over time, you become the kind of person who sees windows others walk right past.
The Closed Loop
Put the three commandments together and you get the perfect trap:
Looking for problems produces a Problem Mindset.
Believing you must “make something of yourself” keeps you on pause.
Transforming gradually makes you miss the open window.
The result? Exhaustion, overwhelm, and AMO — actually missing out.
It becomes a closed loop: you hunt for problems, which makes you feel inadequate. You chase credentials to feel “ready,” which delays you further. While you wait, opportunities slip by. Then you promise yourself the next step will fix everything, and the cycle repeats.
That’s the dogma of the BIG Playbook. Ancient, unquestioned, and still whispered in business schools and TED Talks everywhere. Challenge it, and you’re branded a maverick. Follow it, and you’ll miss the wins waiting for you today.
A Tale of Two Playbooks
You don’t need to obsess over problems. You don’t need to collect badges. You don’t need to crawl forward slowly.
You need a new playbook.
That’s why this book is called Problems to Profits. It’s about the pivot point. The tale of two playbooks.
On one side: the BIG Playbook. Problem-first. Problem-focused. The dogma you inherited.
On the other: the MVP Playbook. Opportunity-first. Opportunity-focused. Built for solopreneurs in the Age of the Individual.
Profits aren’t just about money. Yes, revenues matter. Profits are what happen when you start from opportunity. Wins compound. Results multiply. Energy flows. You gain both momentum and margin.
The Real Cash Value of Opportunity
The BIG Playbook says: solve a problem, maybe earn. But here’s the liberating truth: the Opportunity Mindset has more cash value than the Problem Mindset.
Problems shrink. Solve them once and they’re done. That’s diminishing returns. You can’t scale your way out of it.
Opportunities multiply. Step through one, and three more can appear. That’s compounding growth.
Here’s the shift:
From autopilot to awareness.
From chasing problems to spotting openings.
From proving yourself to being yourself.
From grinding slowly to moving decisively.
That’s the human algorithm of the MVP Framework: Mindset, Volition, Process. Rotate them like a flywheel around the Winner’s Circle, and you can win again and again.
Mindset: replacing the Problem Mindset with an Opportunity Mindset.
Volition: activating your unique strengths and instincts.
Process: building systems that let you act with speed and authenticity.
Profits are oxygen for solopreneurs. Opportunity is how you breathe. Shift your attention from problems to opportunities, and profits move from occasional to inevitable.
That’s how you move from problems to profits. That’s the tale of two playbooks.
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