Hunter? Gatherer? Why Expert No Solve Complex Problem!

Mighty hunter! Expert! Use skill to hunt problem and kill it. Know answers! Figure out answers! Big knowledge! Take problem apart! Find cause and effect! Troubleshoot!

Experts, with their deep domain knowledge and authority, are unmatched in their ability to solve focused problems, problems in their area of expertise. The problems they solve aren't necessarily easy, and may in fact be extremely intricate and involved, but the problems are essentially simple in a structural sense. Think of a surgeon. You want a surgeon with expertise, with experience, with deep knowledge about surgical techniques, about anatomy, with the skill to adapt to whatever they come across when they open you up. This is the domain of the technical expert. Is it complicated? Yes. Is it difficult? Definitely. Yet still, it is structurally simple - the expert deals with focused problems and develops the skill needed to deal with those particular problems.

But what about complex problems? What about problems where cause and effect is widely separated in time and place; problems where many people are involved, with diverse and conflicting interests and perspectives; where the future is unfamiliar and undetermined, where the territory is uncharted and there are no good maps? For complex problems, expertise isn't enough, and the expert's narrow focus is often a barrier to finding a path forward.

The experts within an organization don't see what the other experts see. Leaders don't see what the workers see. Workers don't see what the leaders see. Nobody sees what the customers see! The CIO thinks it's a technology problem, the CFO wants more cost tracking, the HR department sees it as a training issue, and the union thinks it's poor management policy. Many viewpoints, none of which sees the system as a whole, none of which can generate a new, emergent solution that satisfies all the stakeholders.

For complex problem, no get Hunter. Get Gatherer! Gatherer help people with understand each other! Gatherer facilitate! Gatherer get people holding stakes to see stakes other people holding! Gatherer help group make map, plot course! Gatherer help group shift situation, work together! Gatherer help answers emerge from group!

Me say enough!