About

“Wasted resources really bother me. Poor decisions, the result of choosing the wrong problems to solve, squander our limited time, talent and money every day.  We can’t afford that waste anymore.”

A Manifesto for Better Problem Solving

“The problems we choose to solve now will shape our world and our life experiences for generations to come. That’s true for individuals, organizations, societies and our planet.

My work is to make those choices better, by applying and teaching a rigorous approach I call the Meta-Problem Method.

We live in a fundamentally limited world. Each use of resources prevents their use for another purpose. The consequences of our choices will determine what kind of lives our children and their children can live.

We need a tool to help us consider the costs and benefits of the many ways we could choose to spend our limited personal and global resources. Then we need a way to discuss and compare our options, and select the best one.

Making the best use of our limited resources ensures more remains for the future. Each of us is morally responsible for doing what we can to save what we can for others. The meta-problem is my contribution. It offers a disciplined, rational method to optimize our choices. I invite you to join me in improving and spreading it.”

Zohar Strinka

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My Journey

As a professional, an engineer and a data scientist, a mother and a businessperson, I have learned that the task of selecting the best problem (the one that will deliver the outcome we want for the least amount of effort, time and money) is surprisingly difficult.

Most of the time, that’s because we don’t spend enough time at the beginning of the process thinking through and comparing our options. Instead, we lock onto what looks like the “obvious” or “common sense” choice and pursue it until, halfway down that path, we discover there’s a better road to take.

I developed the Meta-Problem Method to help all of us make better decisions by choosing better problems to solve.

Zohar Strinka

professional
an engineer and  a data scientist
a mother
a businessperson

2013

2026

While I was studying industrial engineering in college, I discovered the field of Operations Research. I immediately recognized the way I approach problems, and I went on to get a PhD in the field. I have been writing on problem-solving through that lens since 2013.
Over time I realized many people could benefit from a new way to describe problems when the problem itself is up for discussion. I coined “meta-problem” to describe the choice of which problem to solve.
In my professional life, I run a company called Analytics Strategies, where I work with business clients to solve complex, data-driven problems. My work typically includes building mathematical models, optimizing business processes (supply chains, for example) and data analytics.

This website is a continuation of that project. It’s a work in progress, and I invite you to help improve and refine the meta-problem idea by sending me your suggestions and experiences as you try out the process in different aspects of your life.

Make me a better problem solver

This website is a work in progress, and I invite you to help improve and refine the Meta-Problem Method by sending me your suggestions and experiences as you try out the process in different aspects of your life.

Want to know what it’s like to learn from me? See and hear real examples of my work.

See and Hear Me in Action

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