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21.01.2015

Hold on

Read Time: 4 Minutes

Hello

Hold on. What are we even talking about here?

In two decades of my career, this question or some version of it has been my role in most rooms.

I’ve worked on everything from designing gelato stores, schools, colleges, and restaurants from scratch to creating corporate architectures for complex logistics companies and building strategies for sports teams. 

I’ve sat side by side with the senior-most partners in consulting environments, solving complex, refuse-to-lose bids and winning over $2 billion in strategic deals. 

I’ve worked with solo founders, entrepreneurs, and organizations at every scale.

And yet, I keep finding myself asking:

“Are we actually solving the right problem here?”

“What’s the real point we’re trying to make?”

“Does this even make sense to anyone?”

Far too often, I walk into conversations where post-it notes from “design-thinking” workshops, frameworks, charts, and checklists dominate the walls. 

They look impressive: systematic and logical, even. 

But the outputs? 

They’re stored in digital Narnia and will never be implemented.

Why? 

Because they’re just a façade. 

A way to say, “Look, we followed the process; don’t fire me.” 

It’s what Chris Argyris calls single-loop learning: going through the motions without addressing the core problem.

The reality is. 

99.9% of the most complex problems get solved by starting with humans and asking fundamental questions.

• Who are we helping?
  – Why does this matter?
  – What are we really trying to say?
  – When do we act?
  – Where is this taking us?

The rest is just noise. The naval-gazing delusion that distracts us from what’s truly required.

Maybe it’s because I’m comfortable being the “stupidest” person in the room. 

I refuse to get lost in the fluff, constantly asking:

“So, what’s the simplest way to make this work for humans?”

“Are we solving for clarity or just creating noise?”

This is the real work. 

Helping people unlearn the noise so we can focus on humans, minimize risk, reduce complexity, and get to the heart of what’s required.

The key isn’t another framework, checklist, or model. 

Its clarity, focus, and execution are rooted in fundamental truths about the people we serve.

So, hold on. 

What are we even talking about here? 

Let’s strip away the unnecessary and start with the questions that actually matter.

Yours truly
Paul Syng

PAULSYNG.COM