A Messy Book About Mess and Problems
Personal Truth #1: The content of this booked helped me.
Personal Truth #2: The helpful content could have been communicated in 5-7 pages.
As a result of the two truths above, I find writing a review of Exploring Wicked Problems (1) by Bentley and Toth a bit of a problem—thankfully a tame one and not a wicked one!
Also thankfully: I am not being asked to write a book review, so let me share how some of the helpful content intersected my personal and vocational life.
First, from a personal perspective this book has given me further insight into some of my unconscious expectations concerning the makeup of a ‘good life.’ I am not so naïve and unspiritual as to think that ‘the good life’ is made up of vacations, health, and Taylor Swift concert tickets; No, not those things, but it would certainly be defined as a life without problems!
One of the more recent journeys I have been on is learning how to healthily carry the emotional weight of ‘wicked problems’ (2). Even before some of the more recent ‘wicked problems’ that I have encountered, I had a tendency to think that my life would be better once I resolved ‘X’ problem:
“If I could just find the right hire for this position…”
“If I can just push through the current workload until this date…”
“If I can just resolve this relational issue…”
In this way of thinking, problems ARE the problem as it relates to experiencing ‘the good life.’ The problem with that thinking, of course, is that life is full of problems and the resolution of one will quickly lead to another. Even more problematic: wicked problems don’t have solutions (3)—they just need to be addressed and managed and addressed again. So if a life without problems is the goal for me…well, then I have a problem!
Rather than seeing all problems as bad and something to be eliminated at my earliest convenience, the authors point out the benefits of problems in chapter five (4). That’s not to say we should look for problems and call them ‘good’, but I can shift my perspective on my problems and welcome them as part of a good life on this broken, problematic planet.
As it relates to the more recent ‘wicked problems’ I have encountered in my personal life, this book released me from the unrealistic expectation (and the pressure that it internally creates) to solve it, and instead find a way to interact with, tweak, or seek to improve things while the larger mess continues to exist—to quote one memorable line from the movie Argo, “This is the best bad idea we have” (5). Sometimes that has to be enough.
Second, from a vocational/leadership perspective this book has given me some practical tools for engaging in the problem-solving (or managing) process. The authors distinguish between ‘messes’ and ‘problems’ and write, “Messes are managed by formulating problems you can work on” (6). One mess I have been dealing with for a while now (or not dealing with because I couldn’t figure out how to ‘fix it’) is creating a new org-chart for our team. One of the good benefits of having a healthy leadership culture is that Pastors stick around for a while—apart from a newly-formed Children’s Ministry team, the rest of our Pastors have been serving at the church for 7, 8, 10, 14, and 28 years. The good: I have some great young leaders who are growing in their leadership and are looking for their next challenge and increased responsibility and influence. The problem: they all can’t get moved ‘up’ in the organization and some are going to have to report to former peers. As I read through the book, I was able to identify one problem in the midst of the org-chart mess: I didn’t want to disappoint any of my great leaders. That wasn’t a problem with the org-chart…that was a problem with my leadership.
Once I was able to identify that one problem (of many) from the mess, I could then think through the 9-Step process (I was already onto step three: Own the problem) of dealing with at least one part of the mess (7). As I did so, I was freed up to make a decision without being unhealthily bogged down by other people’s expectations or desires. In Friedman’s terms: I became appropriately differentiated as a leader so I could make the best decision for the team and the church (8).
These lists of practical ‘steps’ (and there were several in the book) were the most practically helpful parts of this book, and one could do a VERY inspectional reading of this book and glean the nuggets quite quickly. Having said that, the best nugget for me was not practical vocational tools—useful as those are. For me, the book was God’s continued invitation to quit trying to build a perfect (read: problem free) life and rather enjoy and engage in this beautiful and somewhat problematic life, and perhaps even help move the dial in solving some of those problems along the way.
(1) Joseph Bentley and Michael Toth, Exploring Wicked Problems: What They Are and Why They Are Important (Archway Publishing, 2020).
(2) Joseph Bentley and Michael Toth, Exploring Wicked Problems: What They Are and Why They Are Important (Archway Publishing, 2020). XIV.
(3) Joseph Bentley and Michael Toth, Exploring Wicked Problems: What They Are and Why They Are Important (Archway Publishing, 2020). 21.
(4) Joseph Bentley and Michael Toth, Exploring Wicked Problems: What They Are and Why They Are Important (Archway Publishing, 2020). 49.
(5) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024648/characters/nm0186505.
(6) Joseph Bentley and Michael Toth, Exploring Wicked Problems: What They Are and Why They Are Important (Archway Publishing, 2020). 105.
(7) Joseph Bentley and Michael Toth, Exploring Wicked Problems: What They Are and Why They Are Important (Archway Publishing, 2020). 80-83.
(8) Friedman, Edwin H., Margaret M. Treadwell, and Edward W. Beal. A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix. 10th anniversary revised edition. New York: Church Publishing, 2017.
About the Author
Scott Dickie
5 responses to “A Messy Book About Mess and Problems”
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Hi Scott,
I too agree that the book could have been shorter. Lots of repetition.
Some of the nuggets I gathered/liked was the comment that there may be NO solution. That we do the best we can to resolve what little piece of the mess that we can.
That takes some of the pressure of to SOLVE the problem.
Shalom…
Yes….I agree Russell. Lots of different sayings or stories related to that truth. I think of Mother Teresa’s quote:
“We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.”
Or the story about the boy throwing starfish back into the ocean and stating, “It matters to THIS one.”
These quotes or stories remind us that lots of messes and problems are bigger than us, but it still matters that we engage in them to do our part. This book framed that truth in a different way which I found helpful.
Welcome back to the blog, Scott!
I identified with your takeaways around unpacking wicked problems with a lens of differentiation. I would love to hear if that view impacts how you discuss the problems with your team, and in what ways?
How do you use the distinctives of wicked problems to set appropriate expectations while avoiding demotivation?
Appreciate you sharing how this book connected to something you are currently going through with your team and organization. I agree this book could have been a pamphlet, but it would be a very good one. Just being able to categorize something as a mess versus a problem brings some order to the chaos.
Also acknowledging this universal feeling of being overwhelmed at some issues is helpful and encourages engagement rather then flight. Like you mentioned we don’t have to have the perfect solution, but we can at least wade into the swamp and begin. Great post man!
You wrote: As I did so, I was freed up to make a decision without being unhealthily bogged down by other people’s expectations or desires.
How do you do this differentiation? Especially as a pastor, manage the expectations or desires, yet make a decision in a healthy way? Have you done it enough that this is the norm now? Just curious on what your process is?