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We face a complex, rapidly changing business environment with problems that, sometimes, are truly not solvable. What can we do? University of Pittsburgh Professor John Camillus suggests four ways to manage these wicked problems.

Also See:
10 Ways to Know You Have A Wicked Problem
Do You Really Have A Strategy?

By Ellen Pearlman

Strategic Thinker: John C. Camillus
Credentials: Donald R. Beall Professor of Strategic Management at the University of Pittsburgh's Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business. He has published extensively in professional journals, served on editorial boards, authored three books, and coauthored a fourth, and served as a consultant to approximately 70 organizations.
Big Idea: "Wicked" problems can't be solved, but they can be managed.
Article: "Strategy as a Wicked Problem" by John C. Camillus, published by Harvard Business Review, May 2008 (you need to be a subscriber or pay to read the article)

We know we live in a complex, rapidly changing business environment that provides us with challenges that are increasingly difficult to solve. But what if those problems are truly not solvable? Professor John Camillus in a recent article in the Harvard Business Review ("Strategy as a Wicked Problem") theorized that "wicked problems" are just what many strategists must now confront and learn to manage.

What is a wicked problem? There's no simple definition. Camillus refers readers to 10 characteristics described by Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber, professors of design and urban planning at the University of California at Berkeley, in a 1973 article in Policy Sciences magazine. Camillus says that wicked problems often arise when organizations "have to face constant change or unprecedented challenges." And what makes them so tough to manage, he says, is their social complexity or the great disagreement among stakeholders about what the problem is, what caused it and how to deal with it. These stakeholders often have different values and priorities making it difficult to agree.

Other characteristics of wicked problems are: the issues are complex and tangled; the problem is difficult to come to grips with and keeps changing as you are trying to deal with it; the challenge has no precedent; and there's nothing to indicate what the right answer is.

As an example of a wicked problem, Camillus looks at the hurdles faced by Wal-Mart. One of those challenges was how to boost revenues and profits. One way was to raise prices, but that strategy flies in the face of its brand identification with consumers. So to go that route, the retailer would have to change its value proposition and start selling pricier products. Or it could try entering a fast-growing market like India. But since local Indian laws don't let foreign companies operate multi-brand retail stores, the company had to come up with a special business model (cash-and-carry wholesale stores for local retailers). That model, however, was unfamiliar to Wal-Mart and could lead to channel conflict down the road if Indian law changes and the company were allowed to sell directly to consumers.

So if it's hard to create meaningful long-term strategy when faced with these intractable problems, what can executives do? Camillus suggests four ways to go about managing wicked strategy problems.

• Involve stakeholders, document opinions and communicate. Since stakeholders will disagree, it's important to involve them early on in the discussions about the nature of the problem and how to solve it. The goal is not to get everyone to agree but to get everyone to understand each other's positions so that people can work together to find ways to manage the problem. It is also important to document the ideas and concerns continually. This provides an opportunity for communication with employees throughout the organization.


• Define the corporate identity. While trying out different ways to deal with a wicked problem, the organization must still stay true to its strategic intent. It must be sure that its actions align with its values, competencies and aspirations.


• Focus on action. Since it will be impossible to identify the right strategy, companies shouldn't think through every possible option. Instead they should experiment with a few that are feasible. However, any path taken will have unforeseen consequences that will require changes in strategy. It is important to learn from those mistakes and not try to avoid them.


• Adopt a "feed-forward" orientation. Since wicked problems are unique they require novel solutions. To take a "feed-forward" orientation, companies need to discover how to envision the future. Scenario planning, looking out 10, 20 or even 50 years, helps executives get into the mindset of imagining the type of plans they might need to succeed in the future.

Creating strategy is relatively easy with clearly defined problems, but when faced with complex and ever-changing challenges the path is murky. Since wicked problems are impossible to model, companies need new ways of developing strategies that will help them thrive in times of profound uncertainty.

Reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review. Excerpted from "Strategy as a Wicked Problem," Copyright (c) 2008 Harvard Business Review; All Rights Reserved.