Loving the problem > Loving the solution

What does it mean to love the problem more than the solution? 

Eighty percent of Social Problem Solving Organizations (SPSOs) only measure what they do. They don’t measure the change that needs to occur in peoples’ lives. To love the problem more than the solution indicates loving the people more than a particular “fix.” When this is the case, interventions often do not evolve upon the receipt of new information. 

Things rarely go right the first time they are tried. The first idea is seldom the best. Sometimes even the second, third, and fourth iterations aren’t quite right. This is why evolving interventions are an essential part of creating social change. This is why, at the Ballard Social Impact Center, our students are taught to love the problem more than the solution. 

It’s all about the theory of change. When developing a theory of change, it’s vitally important to invest time into researching the key terms, context, contributing factors, and negative consequences associated with the social issue. The better a problem is understood, the more it can be loved. The more we love a problem, the more empowered we become to care about the problem more than we care about our solution.