Problem solving is a key skill for entrepreneurs – startups face problems every day. What techniques can you use? Watch this video for a crash course that will give you useful techniques to apply straight away.

Specifics:

• What is the purpose of your venture? This is really important context.
• Is the “problem” really a problem? Don’t worry about non-problems.
• Prioritise – time is your most important asset. Urgent vs important.
• Delegate where you can. It’s folly to try to do everything yourself
• Use experts if it’s going to save you a lot of time
• “Do what you can, and can the rest” – my grandmother, Lena Moskovitz
• Define the problem. “A problem well stated is a problem half solved” – Charles Kettering
• Rubber duck it – see if you can explain the problem to a friend or an inanimate object
• Divide and conquer – decompose the problem into subproblems, and attack them one by one
• Get to the root of the problem using the “five whys”
• List your assumptions (maybe using the Lean Canvas) and validate themUse the scientific method. Hypothesis, experiment, analysis, conclusion. Rinse and repeat.
• Adopt a growth mindset. View problems as opportunities to learn. All failure is information.
• Keep track of your learnings
• Don’t forget to celebrate

This video was made for the Young Enterprise Trust as part of a video series on key skills.