The Four Corners of Problem Solving
Most people don’t actually solve problems. They chase the symptoms.
Low engagement. Crappy reviews. Conversions slipping. The share of voice is shrinking. You can throw cash at all of it and maybe get a short-term bump. But the real problem? Still there. Probably getting worse.
Fixing it means getting honest about what’s actually broken. Obvious, sure. But most folks skip that part.
Here’s the framework I use. Four corners. You run through each one—in order:
1. Product
Start here. Every time.
Way too many teams jump into branding or sales tweaks, only to realize the problem was way more basic. Onboarding is a mess. Packaging’s confusing. The new feature broke more than it helped. Stuff that never should’ve shipped.
Run it back:
Did we push something new that messed with the user flow?
Have reviews shifted recently—for better or worse?
Is LTV moving, and do we actually know why?
Did we expand into new stuff that confused people?
Has the post-purchase experience changed? Support, delivery, follow-up?
2. Consumer
People move on. Fast.
What worked last year doesn’t always work now. The audience gets burned out. Fatigue sets in. Sometimes your ideal customer just… stops caring. And you don’t notice till the numbers start tanking.
Gut-check it:
Are we still solving a real problem or something that used to be a problem?
Has our ICP evolved while we’re still stuck in 2022?
Are buying habits shifting? Are they buying less? Later? Somewhere else?
Are we still relevant or just noise?
Have bigger cultural shifts made us feel out of step?
3. Innovation
Everything fresh eventually gets stale.
Your edge becomes “the norm.” Then, it becomes background noise. That’s the game. The only thing that stays constant? Stuff changes.
Ask yourself:
Has regulation or tech changed the playing field?
Are newer players solving the same thing—but smarter?
Are we still delivering what people actually want from this kind of product?
Is our process starting to feel like yesterday’s news?
4. Company
Sometimes it’s not them—it’s you.
Things shift inside. Culture thins out. Ops, get clunky. Focus drifts. And even if customers can’t name it, they feel it.
Look inward:
Any leadership shakeups? New execs? New owners?
Rolled out a new platform that’s made things harder instead of easier?
Expanded to a new region, and things just haven’t run the same?
Are teams aligned—or is everyone chasing their own version of success?
Usually, it’s not one giant fire. It’s a handful of smaller ones smoldering under the surface.
Run the corners. You’ll find them. And once you do, you can stop chasing the smoke—and finally put out the actual fire.