The people who know how to solve problems are rarely in problem solving spaces. Why?
For people directly experiencing the problem it takes extensive emotional labor with little, if any, resolution to what they're going through. The consequences of not succeeding are both personal and extreme.
People with gifted intelligence become frustrated when approval for their ideas is dependent both on people who lack the intellect to understand their ideas and people who are too emotionally stunted to care.
People who can accurately predict events are devastated by knowing what will happen without the ability to prevent it- which is often dependent on people who deny reality or people who don’t believe prevention matters.
The ‘dream team’ members below are the core of the team. I personally have noticed that the people who belong to the above roles are regularly dismissed, which is the purpose of the two additional team roles listed below.
Lived Experience Expert
This is the person who has the problem. They share their experiences anonymously. Anonymity is important for protecting identity and general harm reduction.
Solutions Expert
This is a person who is both extremely knowledgeable, intellectually gifted, and maybe creative as well. Their wide knowledge base includes information about the problem and ideas on how to execute solutions in the most efficient and effective way possible.
Forecaster Expert
This is a person who can accurately estimate future events by studying and tracking historical, societal, cultural, economic, and environmental patterns. The forecaster must have a knowledge base that includes information relevant to the problem needing to be solved.
Buffer Expert
This is a faithful ally that uses their privilege, social connections, and social skills to help implement the solution that the Lived Experience, Forecaster, and Solutions Expert have decided on. They have enough personal distance from the problem to effectively work with people who are ignorant, high conflict, or have bad intentions without taking serious mental health hits.
Message Expert
This is a person who has experience in storytelling, and can share about the solution that the Lived Experience, Forecaster, and Solutions Expert have decided on in a way that effectively increases public awareness and support.
Solving a problem is similar to entrepreneurship. There are multiple issues entrepreneurs run into.
The first problem is whether their idea is a good one. To succeed, entrepreneurs must provide a solution to a problem. It starts with an idea. Is the idea something that needs to be solved, can be solved, or should be solved? Is it a solution for a problem that only exists for the entrepreneur, otherwise known as "scratching an itch"? Developing a solid idea is what the Lived Experience Expert helps with.
The second problem is how to execute the idea. People often say that ideas are cheap, and the real question is whether you can make it happen. This is what the solution expert helps with. While they aren't executing the solution themselves, they can give ideas and feedback on how to go about making the idea tangibly happen in the most efficient way possible.
The third problem is external factors. A solid idea executed perfectly can fall to ruin through poor timing and seemingly unpredictable events. Anyone who's lived through a pandemic or similar event knows how quickly plans can go to crap. A Forecaster Expert who knows pandemics happen about every 100 years can give you a range of time to prepare for events and backup plans or alternatives to take into consideration.
If we want to solve the worlds problems, we need the best people at the table. That's why I created the Ahead of the Times forum- a platform for the Dream Team people to collaborate on solutions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
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