Focusing on the solution is one of the most common advices and thoughts that an individual or leader has prior to encountering a problem. Despite this fact, when in the midst of a crisis, the focus on the solution aspect is usually insignificant. When the problem is given the highlight it culminates into a vicious circle of blame games, excuses and justifications. On the flip side focusing on the solution creates a surge in the brain that pushes it towards thinking of overcoming the barriers and rectifying the problems.

The problem-focused mindset throws to the table questions of “why?”. These are deceptive questions that look like they are leading you out of a problem but on the contrary are pushing you further into them. In fact “why?” tends to sound very accusatory and would automatically trigger the other persons brain into stimulating their survival reflexes almost as though they were being physically attacked. Alternatively using “What” puts the brain into a solution-focus zone. These questions lead you away from the problem zone into the solution zone.

A problem tends to come out of our past which is finite and limited whereas solutions come from our imagination and resources that are infinite. Hence problems make you feel constrained and boxed in whereas solutions give you the perspective of being liberated and unshackled. Dwelling over past problem will not help or resolve the situation in anyway. A problem focused mindset will move us into a static mode of trying to change something that cannot be changed.

To drive this concept home let’s put it through an example of a luxury brand who was facing a decline in the sale of their flagship product.

The main concern was driven from the fact that, the brand identity was drifted from being a young and trendy brand to an old person brand. It was a culmination of multiple factors like advertisements, show window displays, runway styles among many others. This created a dramatic effect in the way the brand was being perceived by its target audience.

Instead to laying focus on “why?” this was happening or “where?” these consumers were going or “who?” is responsible for the drift, the brand took a solution focused approach. It looked at “how?” it can bring its consumers back, “what?” were the next steps to be done and how they could look at achieving the brand identity back.

They narrowed down their influencer’s and used social media to pitch their product back to their lost target audience. They got young social media fashion influencers to dawn their flagship product in the most stylish ways they considered possible.

It was not long before the brand, saw a multi-dimensional growth. They regained their position as the number one within that product category and even got recognized as one of the pioneers to capitalize on the growing power of social media.

Had they been problem focused they would have completely missed the opportunity of driving thinking towards social media and gone around stressing on past problems or where and how it went wrong. The only difference that made it a solution focus rather than a problem focus, was the question in the spotlight. Instead of a “why did this happen?” route they adopted the “What shall we do about this?” route.

It all boils down to how we choose to focus our thinking. The choice of focus has a major impact on the result.

To learn the science behind how to create a solution focused mind-set enroll for the NeuroLeadership program today.