A problem written clearly is half solved; a vague one cannot be solved at all.
Vague problems get vague answers
Ask five people to describe “the problem with customer service” and you will hear five different problems. One means slow replies, one means rude staff, one means wrong deliveries. If you start fixing before you agree, each person judges the fix against their own version, and everyone ends up disappointed.
A sharp problem statement prevents this. It is one or two sentences that say exactly what is wrong, by how much, since when, where, what it costs, and what “solved” will look like.
The anatomy of a sharp statement
| Part | Ask yourself | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| What | What exactly is going wrong? | Words like “poor”, “bad”, “issues” |
| Number | How big is it, and how is it measured? | Numbers nobody can check |
| Since when | When did it start or get worse? | “Always” or “recently” |
| Where / who | Which products, places or customers? | Treating everything as one |
| Cost | What does it cost in ₹, time or customers? | Skipping this step |
| Solved | What result, by when, means success? | Goals with no date |
Rewrite it in three passes
You rarely get a sharp statement on the first try. Write it badly first, then improve it twice.
- Write it the way people say it. “Our delivery is a problem.” Don't judge it yet; just capture it.
- Add facts and a number. Check the records: 23% of orders in August arrived after the promised day, up from 9% in March.
- Add scope, cost and the finish line. Late orders are concentrated in Pune and Nashik; each costs about ₹400 in refunds and calls. Solved = under 10% late in both cities by December.
Draw the boundary and name an owner
A sharp statement also says what you are not solving. Without a boundary, a delivery problem quietly grows into a project to redesign the whole supply chain, and nothing gets finished.
One problem, one owner
Every problem needs one named person who is responsible for getting it solved. They don't have to do all the work, but they keep it moving, call the reviews and report progress. When three people share a problem, nobody owns it.
A good owner has enough authority to get data from other teams and enough time to follow up every week. If nobody fits, the problem may not be a priority yet, and it is better to say so openly.
Kaveri Snacks: three versions of one problem
Kaveri Snacks (an invented company) makes packaged snacks and sells through 1,200 shops in Karnataka. The founder called a meeting about “too many complaints”. Three senior people described three different problems.
| Who | How they described it |
|---|---|
| Founder | “Shopkeepers are unhappy with us.” |
| Sales head | “We are losing shelf space to a competitor.” |
| Operations head | “Distributors keep sending the wrong quantities.” |
Looking at the complaint register settled it. Of 340 complaints in three months, 71% were about short or wrong deliveries, and most came from two distributors.
Three opinions became one problem with a number, a place, a period, an owner and a finish line. The meeting that followed took 25 minutes, and the fix (a delivery checklist and a weekly call with each distributor) was agreed the same day.
Questions from the worksheet: Write your problem statement
Pick one real problem in your business or team. Keep each answer to one line.
- What is happening? Include a number.
- Since when?
- Where, or for whom?
- What is it costing? In ₹, time or customers.
- What does “solved” look like, and by when?
- What is outside this problem, and who owns it?
What to remember
- A sharp statement says what is wrong, by how much, since when, where, what it costs and what solved means.
- It also says what is out of scope and who owns the problem.
- If two people read it and picture the same thing, it is ready.
- Problem statement
- One or two sentences that define the problem precisely.
- Scope
- The boundary of what you are and are not solving.
- Owner
- The one person responsible for getting the problem solved.
This article is adapted from the book. Examples marked “Example” use invented names and numbers; company stories are based on public sources listed in the book. For general learning; use your own judgement for your situation.
