Seeing Problems as Opportunities:
A Habit Worth Building

In most organisations, when something breaks, the instinct is simple.

Fix it fast. Patch the hole. Move on.

We are wired to love quick wins. They feel good. They give us momentum.

But over time, I have learned that quick fixes rarely solve the real problem. They only buy time. Sometimes, they even make the next problem worse.

Some of the biggest opportunities for a business sit behind the very problems we are tempted to ignore. The ones that seem too hard, expensive, political, or messy to fix properly.

If you are willing to step back, sit in the discomfort, and dig beneath the surface, you often find something surprising. There is usually an opportunity hidden inside the challenge.

The temptation to treat symptoms, not causes

In fast-moving environments, it is easy to become symptom-driven.

If customer churn increases, tweak the onboarding emails.

If a team misses deadlines, add another check-in.

If leads drop off, throw more budget at ads.

But these are often surface-level moves. They treat the symptom, not the root cause. And over time, organisations build layer after layer of temporary fixes.

Complexity grows. Confusion grows.

And real growth stalls.

My Approach: Turning Problems into Experiments

If this problem could unlock a new opportunity, what would that opportunity look like?

What assumptions would need to be tested to know if it is real?

From there, I move into testing. Sometimes, the tests reveal new efficiencies. Sometimes, they uncover bigger ideas for improving operations, customer experiences, or even new ways to drive the bottom line.

This experimentation mindset allows me to step back from the immediate discomfort of a problem and see it from different angles.

Instead of asking, "How do I make this go away?" I ask, "How could this open up something better for the business?"

It is not always clean or easy. Some hypotheses do not work out. But even those experiments reveal something valuable. They show what matters, where friction hides, and what real solutions could be built from it.

This is the difference between plugging a hole and finding a real opportunity. It is not about solving faster. It is about solving smarter—and opening doors that others might miss.

The hidden opportunities in hard problems

A favourite example of this mindset is the 3M story.

In the 1970s, a scientist at 3M was trying to create a strong adhesive—and accidentally created one that was weak and reusable.

It was technically a "failed experiment."

But because the company encouraged creative thinking, someone saw the potential.

That weak adhesive became the foundation of Post-it Notes, one of 3 M's most iconic and profitable products.

The lesson is simple; when organisations allow people to explore problems from different angles, they often stumble onto innovation. Not because they planned it. Because they were open enough to see it.

It is not just how I work—it is what I teach

This way of thinking is not something I keep to myself. I have always encouraged my team to adopt the same mindset. I tell them to build side hustles. To think about how their skills or passions could be monetised or scaled outside their day job. Not because I want them to leave. Because I want them to start thinking like business owners, not just employees.

When you think like a business, you see problems differently.

You stop clock-watching.

  You stop complaining about new projects.

  You start asking, "Where is the opportunity here?"

  You start thinking, "How can I help the business grow and grow with it?"

Since encouraging this mindset, I have seen a real shift. Instead of dreading change, teams get excited. Instead of feeling burdened, they feel energised by new challenges. It builds a stronger, more innovative, and more resilient culture. One where critical thinking, creativity, and ownership thrive.

The mindset shift that creates real growth

Real growth does not come from quick fixes but from asking better questions, testing out-of-the-box ideas, and building solutions that move the business forward.

When you treat problems as experiments instead of burdens, you give yourself and your team permission to create better ways of working.

You stop settling for "good enough."

You start making decisions that shape the future of the business, not just maintain it.

Fixing what is broken is important.

But finding the opportunity behind it?

That is where real progress begins.