5 Best Practices to Solve Real World Problems
There are 7,855,730,354 people in the world, and the number continues to increase by the second. You represent 0.000000000127296% of the population.
You’re a speck.
But, 0.000000000127296% isn’t a measure of the impact you can make in the world. There are 7,855,730,354 people in the world, and you can improve the lives of every single one of them.
You’re a speck, but didn’t all change-makers start as specks?
With the right data, people and ambition, you can solve real world problems. Let’s set up a foundation to start that impact.
1. Think Impact
Think impact, dream big but also remain realistic. There’s a lot of problems in the world, it is impossible to solve them all. Narrow in on one specific problem, a target demographic and work your way up with the impact you will drive in mind.
Coming up with an idea, finding a problem you’re passionate about solving are first steps that anyone can do. However, the quality of that idea and the number of people it will impact is a test of your ambition and determination.
Impact can’t be something fluffy like, “making the world a better place.” Yes you are, but how and by how much? Are you going to provide housing to 100,000 impoverished families? Well, how are you going to go about doing that, and what exactly are you solving?
When you’re going to be pitching your idea, solution or project to an investor or an audience, you need to show them the bigger picture. Your impact. Not only your impact, but also how you are going to drive this impact. What parts of your marketing campaign will help you achieve this? Is it feasible? Do you have the right resources to make this happen?
Don’t go blindly chasing the stars. Map out the journey you will take to get there, and make sure you do get to the stars.
But, this is pretty hard to do alone.
2. Build a Like-Minded Team
Many people think they can master all aspects and shoulder the brunt of the work on their own.
You can’t do it alone. A jack of all trades is generally a master of none.
Not only is this bad for you, but also bad for the solution you are coming up with. Diverse mindsets and input are crucial to the development of a solution, after all, you won’t be the only one your solution will impact.
A team will be there to keep you driven and thinking. Disagreements in a team will be inevitable, in fact, they are encouraged. When you’re on your own, you generally won’t disagree, however when you implement this solution into the real world, you’ll be in for a world of resistance and disinterest. A team will prepare you for this through adding perspectives from cultural, economic and political standpoints.
Now that you have an impact and plan in mind, get a team with your shared goals to validate this and poke holes.
Picking the Right Team
Let’s take two possible candidates for a core team member specializing in software development.
I’m not going to tell you which choice is “wrong” or “right.” However, if you want to make a real impact, you need to surround yourself with people that will push you and are reaching for the same end goal. Not team members that are there just to fulfill the job, get a pay check and go home. The ability to work in a team and having the same passion is far more valuable that experience in the long-run. Experience can be developed, genuine excitement is not easily developed.
If you want to solve real world problems in the long run, you will know who to choose.
3. Validate. Validate. Validate
Don’t stay trapped in your little team bubble. The only way to see if an idea makes sense is to get outsider perspectives. Talk to experts in the field and your target population.
I mean, you can’t solve maternal mortality without ever talking to a group of mothers with different backgrounds.
Everyone has different circumstances, and most of the time the people you’re trying to help live in a completely different environment. See if your idea makes sense for them.
Aside from validating an idea with people, you need the data to back it up. Look through the status quo: Why hasn’t this problem been solved already? Give a rundown of the financials: How much will this implementation cost? How much money must be raised?
Validate with past solutions: Why didn’t they work? Why will your solution work?
Data is everything, validate your idea with it.
4. Be Disciplined
Things are only going to happen if you make them happen.
Something I still struggle with is creating a timeline of tasks and then sticking to it. Some days might be hard and you might want to give up but the only way you can make change is if you drive yourself and remind yourself what you’re working towards.
Take breaks, set reminders, time block, try it all. Find a method that optimizes for your work flow and keeps you motivated and then implement it into your daily life.
Especially with a team, it’s important to set a culture where discipline is important and inconsistency shouldn’t even be part of team vocabulary.
Big change starts with you!
5. Never Settle
In today’s world, problems only continue to get bigger. Don’t just stop at helping a few dozen people, make 500 your next goal, then 50,000, then 500,000,000 and then billions!
Don’t stop.
Prioritize people over profits and don’t settle on a target group to reap maximum rewards. Of course, you have to make a living and so does your team, but many companies stray away from solving global problems to solving which pocket can hold the most money.
Stay true to yourself and your goals, don’t be distracted by greed.
That’s not all.
These best practices are a starting point, we can’t just toss them into a bowl and boom: problem solved. A lot of dedication and hard work go into it, and this is your foundation for it.
I have a long way to go as well. While building a recommendation for solving economic gender inequality in Cambodia, I discovered many holes and short-comings. I wish I had a good understanding of these best practices in order to solidify my initial proposal.
Thanks to the many mentors at TKS and the United Nations, I was able to learn a lot about data and validation. I also got the chance to connect with a like-minded team as we hustled that month through late nights.
I can’t wait to keep turning the needle, and I hope to see you turning it along with me.
For more insights like this and cool resources related to emerging technology, I would love for you to join my journey.
