Four ways philosophy can help you future-proof your business

Strong businesses solve problems. Stronger businesses leverage problems to create disruption.

Time and again I have met very smart, technical business owners and employees who, faced with a business problem, say something like "we need a new point of sale with iPads", or "we need a new payroll system", or "we need more customers for our product". These may be sound decisions, but all too often they are not. It turns out the problem is actually the problem (pun intended).

Many businesses are solution-driven, because most businesses are scared of problems: problems hurt the business, alienate the customer base and can be costly. Many are hard-wired to solve problems swiftly to avoid disruption to their primary, money-making, customer-satisfying goal. In a crisis, be it a flood, an exploding battery or an embattled CEO, businesses rally enough resources to solve, usually successfully, the issue at hand.

However, spending time and resources solving the wrong problem can be just as expensive as inaction, or more. During a burning crisis the problem is evident to everyone, but complex, structural problems are often buried under a thick layer of business culture and habit, which can prevent not only the solution of a problem but even its proper definition.

Old-world businesses may keep delivering the same tried product and rely on their expertise to solve problems for a while longer, but the fast rate of transformation across all industries has accelerated the speed at which businesses that have not dealt with their structural problems unravel. The good news is that any business can turn to the old science of philosophy, and specifically to a philosophical attitude towards problems. As the British philosopher Bertrand Russell said:

Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers to its questions, but rather for the sake of the questions themselves.

Bertrand Russell

Stronger businesses do not act on impulse. They spend time defining problems, because they know this is an opportunity to review their entire operating paradigm and come out ahead of the competition. That cultural shift is hard for established businesses, but here are four things you can start doing today.

Ask why. Do not be afraid to ask a question that on the surface seems trivial. Philosophers know that seemingly trivial questions, such as "what is time?" or "are we free?", can lead to the deepest and most complex discussions. Next time someone says "we need to develop an app", ask why. It might turn out that what your customers needed all along was friendlier salespeople.

Choose your words carefully. How often have you disagreed with a colleague only to realise you simply meant different things? Words are not only labels that everyone understands the same way; they carry an implicit understanding of reality, what we usually call assumptions. Philosophers choose their words carefully, because when defining a problem the best place to start is to know exactly what each word means and tease out the assumptions beneath it. Then you can define the problem in a way everyone understands, and empower your whole business to act in unison towards the same goal.

Go deep. A healthy business keeps a level of peace among its people so it can function, which often means employees do not feel empowered to press an issue as hard as they might like. Not every problem is worth the pain, but some cannot be defined without digging deep. Just as Socrates pressed his interlocutors with uncomfortable questions, you must be willing to delve into a problem and support others doing the same. As uncomfortable as that is, it is not nearly as bad as watching a competitor take over your business.

Accept that real problems can have more than one definition, and many more solutions. Problem-solving is not us versus them. Philosophers criticise and build on each other's work all the time to clarify problems and improve solutions. While one formulation may be more elegant, or work better in a given context, the deeper and more complex the problem, the more likely there are several ways to frame it and many more ways to solve it. Philosophers accept that when someone disagrees with them, it does not mean they are wrong.

Your business culture will not change in a day or a month. But if you keep working hard to solve the wrong problem, sooner or later you will meet obliteration or exhaustion, or both. Embrace your inner philosopher today, and start leveraging your toughest problems to future-proof your business.

A version of this article was first published by Dr Marco Motta on LinkedIn.