Tag Archives: Problem Definition

Why diagnosis is so hard

Posted on October 13, 2026 by Eugene Ivanov

In my previous post, I argued that the correct diagnosis of a business problem is much cheaper than any attempt to apply the wrong solution. And yet, the disciplined approach to problem diagnosis is very rare. Why?   The usual … Continue reading →

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The Cheap Fix

Posted on October 12, 2026 by Eugene Ivanov

The price of a fix often has little to do with the size of the problem. Much more likely, it depends on the quality of the diagnosis. This runs against corporate instinct. A serious problem should require serious response, and … Continue reading →

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Oracles and Interlocutors, Revisited (Why the way small organizations use AI matters more than whether they use it at all)

Posted on June 18, 2026 by Eugene Ivanov

A while back, I argued that there are two ways to put AI to work. You can treat it as an oracle — an answer machine you query and obey — or as an interlocutor, a thinking partner that sharpens … Continue reading →

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When Grant Writing Isn’t the Problem

Posted on June 10, 2026 by Eugene Ivanov

Earlier this spring, I wrote about the structural pressures bearing down on the nonprofit sector. The numbers are not comfortable. According to the State of Nonprofits 2026 report, a national survey of 380 nonprofit leaders published by the Center for … Continue reading →

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When Confidence Becomes the Problem: The Most Dangerous Step in Problem Solving

Posted on June 2, 2026 by Eugene Ivanov

A few years ago, a large Midwest-based paint and coatings manufacturer asked me to help them crowdsource a redesign of a new industrial pump. The new pump worked beautifully in the lab, but clogged constantly when used outdoors. The engineers … Continue reading →

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From Process to Practice: Who Runs It and How

Posted on April 27, 2026 by Eugene Ivanov

This is the fifth and final post in the series “Problem First: AI-Assisted Problem Solving for Organizations That Can’t Afford to Get It Wrong.” After I published the second post in this series, the one laying out a five-stage problem-solving … Continue reading →

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AI as Problem-Solving Partner: Doing It Right

Posted on April 22, 2026 by Eugene Ivanov

This is the fourth post in the series “Problem First: AI-Assisted Problem Solving for Organizations That Can’t Afford to Get It Wrong.” I ended the previous post with a claim that deserves scrutiny: that the real value of AI for … Continue reading →

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The Organizations That Need Problem Solving Most Are the Ones Doing It Least

Posted on April 13, 2026 by Eugene Ivanov

This is the third post in the series “Problem First: AI-Assisted Problem Solving for Organizations That Can’t Afford to Get It Wrong.” The first two posts in this series made a general case. Organizations are bad at defining problems. They … Continue reading →

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The Problem-Solving Manifesto

Posted on April 1, 2026 by Eugene Ivanov

(What the Problem-Solving Process Actually Looks Like) This is the second post in the series “Problem First: AI-Assisted Problem Solving for Organizations That Can’t Afford to Get It Wrong.” In the first post in this series, I argued that organizations … Continue reading →

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Why We’re So Bad at Solving Problems (And Why It Matters More Than Ever)

Posted on March 22, 2026 by Eugene Ivanov

This is the first post in the series “Problem First: AI-Assisted Problem Solving for Organizations That Can’t Afford to Get It Wrong.” Clients always come to me knowing what they want. Very often, however, they don’t do enough due diligence … Continue reading →

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