Problems are inescapable.
But when do problems become larger than isolated blips on your personal life map?
The traditional playbook promotes problem-first thinking.
The first rule of that playbook is simple and familiar: “Look for problems first.”
It portrays winning as finding a problem and solving it.
The bigger the problem, the bigger the win.
Problems become like your personal Moby Dick, both nemesis and destiny.
Your brain trains itself on what you pay attention to.
The more you look for problems, the more problems you see.
With time, you develop a problem mindset.
You see problems first, until eventually, you see problems, period.
Innovation Begins with Opportunity
Innovation is opportunity-based, not merely problem-based.
If you want to innovate yourself, that is, apply the principles of innovation to your own personal situation, then you need to develop an opportunity mindset.
Peter Drucker described seven sources of opportunity.
In his 1985 book Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Drucker identified seven sources of opportunity for innovators, including high-agency individuals who seek to innovate themselves:
The Unexpected — Unexpected successes, failures, or events.
Incongruities — Gaps between what is and what should be, or between expectations and reality.
Process Needs — Weaknesses, missing links, or bottlenecks.
Industry and Market Structure Changes — Shifts in market dynamics, industry structures, or customer behavior.
Demographics — Changes in population size, age, composition, education, employment, or geographic distribution.
Changes in Perception, Mood, and Meaning — Changes in how people interpret their circumstances or what they value.
New Knowledge — Advances in scientific, technical, or other knowledge that enables entirely new products, services, and ways of working.
These seven sources are indicators of change. Most people actually resist change, preferring stability and equilibrium. Innovators look for signs of change, because they know that change brings opportunity.
The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.
— Peter Drucker, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (1985)
Think of the seven sources of opportunity like picture windows in a great mansion. Look through one window, and you see an opportunity. The next window shows another opportunity. Finally, you may find that certain opportunities are so expansive that they can be seen through more than one window. Pay special attention to those multi-window indicators of compound opportunity.
AI is the perfect example of a multi-window, compound opportunity, lighting up all windows at once.
It’s not that problems are not opportunities. They are.
Problems are just one type of opportunity, not the only source.
Your problem is just another opportunity.
But there are many other sources of opportunity remaining on the table unused.
Focusing on problems narrows your view, while focusing on opportunities expands your view and multiplies your possibilities.
By focusing on opportunities first, you will see problems in their proper perspective. If you change your mindset, you can change your future.
HOW to Develop an Opportunity Mindset
In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared mind.
— Louis Pasteur, speech at Douai (1854)
If you are convinced that you want to develop your own opportunity mindset, then HOW can you do that?
First, you need curiosity. Never stop cultivating your curiosity.
Second, you need mindfulness. David Allen, author of the book Getting Things Done, would simply describe it as paying attention to what you are paying attention to.
Don’t allow yourself to slip into autopilot mode, hurrying along without noticing something that could potentially change your future.
Lastly, you need just three little words:
HMM, OUCH, and WOW.
Their first letters spell HOW. They are HOW you can develop your opportunity mindset.
Drucker’s seven sources of opportunity are profound and rich in meaning. However, trying to remember them all during the busyness of the day would be cumbersome.
The three little words are like shorthand, and map nicely onto Drucker’s seven sources whenever you dive deeper in review.
HMM indicates curiosity, or something you want to think about more.
OUCH indicates friction, or tension, or something that is not right.
WOW indicates discovery, a “eureka” moment, or something that startles you.
Use them as hashtags to tag things that capture your attention during each day. You can use one hashtag, two, or even three, depending on how strongly you feel about what you observed.
Over the years, I have used Field Notes analog notebooks and various digital notepads.
I use the three little words, HMM, OUCH, and WOW, as hashtags, so that I can filter on them during reviews.
My review process is simple. I review the items I have tagged during the week with HMM, OUCH, or WOW. I pay special attention to those items with multiple hashtags, because they could indicate compounding opportunity.
I trust my instinct to determine which items I feel most strongly about.
From HOW to ACT
Next, we apply another acronym — ACT.
ACT corresponds to the Volition aspect of the MVP Framework.
A stands for AGREE.
C stands for COMMIT.
T stands for TAKE ACTION.
For those HOW items I have identified, I consider which appear to be a good fit for me and my natural strengths. These I tag with Agree.
Each week, I include those items tagged with “Agree” in my review. If I feel strongly about one or more, I add another tag — “Commit”. I have now committed to do something about this potential opportunity I have identified.
Finally, after reviewing my “Commit” items, I will selectively turn certain items into projects by applying the “Take Action” tag.
Now, the simple HMM, OUCH, or WOW item has been reviewed and transformed into a project.
Opportunities Begin with Seeing
Not every observation will bloom into an opportunity. Not every opportunity will be right for you. And not every opportunity deserves your commitment.
That’s where your natural strengths, judgment, and agency come in.
Your problem isn’t just the problem itself. It’s what you might be missing while being distracted by it.
Something to think about...
How much time do you spend focusing on problems?
What have you noticed recently that you could tag with HMM, OUCH, or WOW?
Which opportunity are you taking action on now?
Understanding your natural strengths is essential to innovating yourself. The Kolbe A™ Index identifies your strengths and puts the Action in ACT. I am a Kolbe Certified Consultant. Message me if you’d like to learn more.
I couldn't stop thinking about jiu jitsu. I really like the system you laid out. Its got nice order. In jiu jitsu, your opponent is the problem that keeps on giving. If you just focus on the problems all youre doing is playing defense. But once you understand the problems will never stop coming because they want to choke you out and break you, and defense is now muscle memory, opportunity starts to present its self. And you said it, A.C.T! If not, color you purple because your going to sleep!