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Meta-Problem℠ Method

Effective problem-solving starts with a decision: which problem should you pick to solve? Everything else you do follows from that decision, and many of us are surprisingly bad at making that choice. 
This website is designed to help you get better at it.

Why Choosing the Right Problem Matters

  • 1

    Picking the wrong problem leads us to waste enormous amounts of money, talent, time and energy chasing down the wrong road.

    Enter the Meta-Problem Method, my solution to the challenge of picking the right problem to solve.

  • 2

    How do you know what the “right” problem is? It’s the problem that will get you the results you want, for the least amount of effort, time and money.

    Most of us are so anxious to get started that we lock ourselves in to a “solution” too early, and fail to compare and weigh the alternative problems we could solve to get to our goal.

  • 3

    The Meta-Problem Method will help you be a sharper problem-solver. It works in every domain from the personal to business, societal and global, and across every level of problem, from trivial to existential.

Key steps

  • Multiple paths arrow

    Dilemma

    The high-level issue you are trying to address. It could be anything from making mealtimes with the kids less stressful, to reducing homelessness or increasing global sustainability.

  • Goals

    Changes you could make in the world to address the dilemma. For example, if the dilemma is reducing homelessness, your supporting goals might include more low-cost housing, changing the zoning laws, accessible mental health care, and so on.

  • Puzzle pieces

    Problem Space

    The obstacles preventing you the from making progress towards your goals. Weigh the trade-offs and costs involved in solving each of them. How much effort for how much return? This helps separate the “must-haves” from the “nice-to haves”.

  • Rocket ship

    High-Yield Problems

    Many of the obstacles you identified in the “Problem Space” above will be interconnected. Sometimes solving one problem helps make progress towards several goals. In this step, we identify these “two-for-the-price-of-one” problems.

  • Pointer

    Problem Selection

    In this step, you address the problem of picking the best problem to solve. Which of the many possible options in the high-yield problem step is the best set to address the dilemma? Which problem will deliver the best outcome for the least amount of time, effort and money?​

  • Wrench

    Implement & Learn

    Observe and learn as you go. Real life is uncertain. Circumstances change, and new information may reveal itself as you implement your chosen solution, so check continuously that you’re still solving the best problem

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