There are no Complex Problems, Only Complex Solutions.

One way that I wished I had started my career was as a consultant. I would have been badass. But I failed McKinsey’s interview, and since it was MBB or nothing in consulting for me, I started off as a Business Developer. On the street, they will say, "O sun mo grammy." 😁

Although I didn’t get into McKinsey, one important concept I learnt while preparing for my case interview and that has stayed with me till now is the Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive framework. I particularly like the MECE framework because it tries to break down a problem into exclusive components to understand the root cause and then gradually cover all aspects of the problem until it is exhausted.

So whenever I am faced with hydra-headed problems with multiple, sometimes competing perspectives, I try to first narrow it down into smaller mutually exclusive components and gradually cover all aspects of the situation. Come to think about it, all problems are clear, and most of the time, it is in a bid to solve a simple problem that we create complex “solutions” that are not solutions by themselves because we now have to solve the problems arising from the solution while neglecting the initial problem.

For instance, I moved out of an estate that was thrown into darkness for a while because the generator servicing the estate broke down. Before then, a power committee had been set up to mobilise residents in the community to contribute towards the purchase of another generator. Looks simple until you realise that about half of the residents in the estate are tenants, and understandably, tenants would not want to commit an amount close to or more than their annual rents towards the purchase of a facility that they won’t get to possibly benefit from for a long term. The homeowners are not affected by the power situation, so everything is fine as far as they are concerned. As if that is not enough, it was discovered that one of the members of the committee had “invested” more like gambled a part of the funds when asked to transfer the amount saved to the supplier as a deposit. So even people who would have paid are scared to pay, and since the estate does not allow individual generators and power supply from PHCN, EKEDC or whatever they choose to be called these days is non-existent, the community was thrown in perpetual darkness and rather than solve this problem. The focus shifted to setting up an audit and disciplinary committee to investigate the power committee and then involve law enforcement agencies to get them to release the funds and several other mediations with the homeowners and tenants.

Sadly, when you look around, you find that more problems are introduced while trying to solve a simple problem. A community is in darkness, an application keeps getting negative reviews on the app or Play Store, a business is not making profit and failing, the citizens of a country are living below the poverty line and can’t afford basic needs like food. All of these problems are clear, but it is in finding a solution that we introduce complexity to the problems.

What if we segment problems and address them with simple solutions? Using one of the scenarios described earlier, a business is not making a profit and failing. A MECE approach will be to narrow it down to revenue and costs. Are we able to increase revenue? If the answer is yes, how do we increase revenue? If the answer is no, which is hardly the case, then how do we reduce costs? It gives clarity into the problem or situation and makes resolving it easier.

When I was in the university, my favourite lecturer, Dr. Abeh, accosted me in front of his office and asked me to explain a complex statistical concept to one of the cleaners. I can’t remember the exact concept, but I still remember his words. He said if you can’t explain this concept to this woman, then you probably don’t deserve your first class. He went further to add that the height of genius is the ability to explain complex things in simple ways.

Our world is complex enough. The least we can do is communicate plainly and without ambiguity when solving a problem, brainstorming an idea, or even having casual conversations.

Cheers to simpler solutions 🥂