These words are wisdom, but wisdom is a virtue of few. The rest need to develop it. Tata Docomo recently launched an ad campaign asking people to “Keep It Simple, Silly,” which became an instant hit. Organizations have found that it is easier to sell simple ideas than complicated ones. Every idea is an answer to a problem. So if the answer needs to be simple, why should the solution be complicated? Solving problems is the course of doing business.

Unresolved problems could in time turn complex such that it becomes very difficult to conjure up a cure. The issue does not lie in the complexity of the problem, but with one’s approach towards solving it. Amongst many such approaches used by consultants, is the structure based approach. Solving problems in a structured manner not only helps draw out a simpler framework but also helps reduce the amount of effort put into solving it.

Structured problem solving has benefited consultants to come up with:

1.      An effective initial hypothesis which lays the foundation for data collection, factual synthesis and analysis.

2.     The scope of the problem and a guideline for a researcher which helps him explore in the right direction. Every project is limited by resources and one should avoid expending too many resources in the wrong direction. This helps researchers come up with comprehensive solutions before deadlines and add value to the final product which benefits the client.

3.    Easy to comprehend and simple to implement frameworks which enable them to break complex problems into smaller components that can be solved individually. In today’s competitive scenario, organizations face complex problems, for which untying the Gordian Knot itself is insufficient, one has to unthread the rope into individual threads and solve each thread to the origin of the rope; i.e. the root of problem. A logic tree or a problem tree could be a tool to achieve this.

The advantages can be better understood by looking at a simple case. Indian retail industry which contributes up to 12% of the GDP faces the challenge of increasing competition. The Indian retail sector has witnessed too many players in too short a time, which has made this sector turn vapid. New entrants along with existing players keep asking the same question, “How do we make money in this industry?”

An ad-hoc approach towards this problem could look like the image on the right where there are ‘n’ number of interdependent variables across internal and external factors.

Applying structured based approach towards solving this complex problem could corroborate our assumptions.

Major hurdles faced by a player in the Indian retail industry can be classified into three categories:

1. Threat of rapid price changes and low margins
2. Threat from unorganized sector
3. Legal policies

We can sub categorize by breaking down these categories so that no aspect of the problem is left untouched. One could keep breaking it down till a simple framework of the problem is achieved. I have broken down one arm of the problem tree demonstrating the break-down of a problem down to 5 levels. This can be further broken down into more levels.

We understand that FDI regulation affects New Technology and R&D in retail. This will ultimately help companies deal with low margins. Due to constrain of this blog I will not go deep into these subcategories.

The above approach enables us to cover all the aspects associated with the problem. It also enables consultants to look at different perspectives which would have been hidden or overlooked before.

The golden rule says, no matter how complex the problem, if its solution is not simple then one is on the wrong track. One must always try to simplify the problem as much as possible keeping sure that nothing is left and every possibility is considered. It is only through the most complex situations that the subtle art of simplicity be understood.

- published in SCIP’s Competitive Intelligence Magazine, March 2010

The seemingly poor performance notwithstanding, the legislation is a valuable (but under-utilised) tool for business researchers to gain valuable data in an environment of information drought. Data on the % of the RTI appeals filed for business research purposes is not available, but I feel it is likely to be a very negligible proportion.

The Indian Government collects far less data than governments in more developed countries. Businesses in India thirst for a valid basis on which to base decisions, particularly those relating to unorganised segments of the economy and household incomes. Given that the unorganised sector constitutes over 85% of the economy in terms of employment, and over 60% in terms of GDP, the information gap is huge.

The little data that the government does collect is not easily available to researchers. Much of it is not posted on websites. Phone calls and trips to the concerned offices don’t always yield results – it’s really depends on whims and moods of officer in charge. The data that is posted on websites is not always easy to find – many government websites are poorly designed and hence really hard to navigate. Links don’t always work. On contacting the authority, a curt instruction to “take it from the website” is all that is forthcoming.

In such cases, an RTI works very well. The timeline is long – it takes at least a month to get a response, some times a little more. Where the information is politically sensitive, the information may take much longer to get – or I have been told, not at all. Our experience with applications for data of interest to businesses has been positive.

Researchers in developed countries, where a lot more information is available, have taken the right to information legislation to an entirely different level. The legislation, for instance, can be used to figure out details such as specific changes in the production line of a competitor’s factory. While India is a very long way from that kind of reporting and transparency, a start has been made.