Layers of problem-solving
When it comes to the layers of problem-solving, there’s the thing. And then there’s the other thing. There’s what meets the eye and the support. The object and the intention. What’s known and everything else. Your voice…and the reason you open your mouth.
Both co-exist and yet most of us often only consider one level. This is normal; we’re looking at the level that meets the senses. Unfortunately, our senses neither fully address the scope of problems nor the shape of solutions.
How Small Issues Become Big Problems Over Time
Here’s an example: a leak in my kitchen destroyed the floor. Flooring, I learned, is much more like skin than bone, because flooring isn’t structural. It’s a layer separating the structure from everything else. Plus, directly beyond the floor, there’s sub-floor. Like muscles under skin, the sub-floor creates the feeling of ground, the force behind the floor. Sub-flooring is what we feel when we walk.
My problem was both. And when both are damaged, both must go. And if the sub-floor is damaged, well, both must go, also. But if only the floor is compromised, then the problem remains superficial.
Why this matters: It’s a metaphor. Everything — good, bad, or both — has more than one level. Often, too, it’s small drips over time that make big damages.
So when you’re dealing with a challenge, ask, “How deep is this?” If the answer is only one level deep, then you don’t need to fix the whole house.
Surface vs. Structural Issues in Life and Work
Another way to think about this: anxiety can be the presentation of an unconscious irritant. To relieve the tension, the question becomes where. Where is the source of the anxiety? To understand layers may (at best) remove or (more likely) redirect your solutions. Success, also, is a multi-dimensional system. Businesses and products, too, work in the same way. In all things, there’s more than one level.
There’s the thing and there’s the other thing. The problem and the source.
In total, “floor” is an illusion. It’s a metaphor for the surface of a nuanced thing. Coincidentally, it’s also the entry point for consideration and consciousness; where we stand is neither as flimsy nor as solid as we think.
