Here's an uncomfortable truth: many improvement projects fail not because of poor execution, but because they solved the wrong problem. Organizations waste countless hours addressing symptoms while root causes remain untouched.
Consider this famous example: In 1985, Coca-Cola launched "New Coke" to solve what they defined as a "taste preference problem". Their largest competitor, Pepsi, was winning blind taste tests. Coke invested millions in their new recipe and marketing. The product failed spectacularly. Why? Coke had solved the wrong problem. Customers valued the emotional connection and tradition of original Coke. By defining the problem as a “taste preference problem”, they missed what truly mattered to their customers.
A well-crafted problem statement has TWO essential qualities – it articulates the GAP between what should be happening and what is happening and it quantifies the IMPACT. So, how to get it right?
A good problem statement is: