The Problem We’re Trying To Solve

Todd Henry says all the time,

“Creativity is problem-solving. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

So simply put:

What is the problem you’re trying to solve?

Asking this question at the beginning, middle, and end of your creative project will always lead to greater success.

In the beginning:

To begin each project you need to ask the client (or yourself) what the problem is. Without a problem to solve, it’s just noise. Asking this question gets to the heart of the issue and focuses you right out of the gate on making a difference with your solution. “If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.”

In the middle:

At certain milestones throughout the project, it’s important to make sure you haven’t veered away from the original problem you were trying to solve. We see this all the time when a coffee shop decides to sell pizza, Burger King sells chicken sandwiches, and Instagram tries to get into the Twitter game (is anyone actually using Threads?). Set checkpoints in the middle of a project to ensure you’re still on target with solving the original problem.

At the end:

You made it! You solved the problem! Everything is great now. Right? Right?? If you get to the end and cannot answer the question of what problem you just solved and it doesn’t match the original problem, you’ve failed. Did you set out to become the King of Burgers but instead are settling for less-than-perfect chicken sandwiches?

So, what’s the problem you’re trying to solve today? Keep that in front of you and you will succeed every time.