Few weeks back, one lesson from my Animal Advocacy Africa fellowship challenged how I think about solving problems.
I went in believing the hardest part of building a high-impact intervention was finding the right solution. In between ; i realized the harder task is asking the right questions. One of our assignments was to "red team" our own ideas. Instead of defending the intervention we liked most, we had to actively look for reasons it might fail.
Honestly; that really felt really uncomfortable at first.
We are naturally wired to collect evidence that supports our ideas. We spend far less time looking for evidence that could prove us wrong. The exercise reminded me that good decisions are rarely made by asking, "Why is this a good idea?"
They are made by asking:
• What assumptions am I making?
• What evidence would change my mind?
• What am I missing?
• If this failed, what would most likely be the reason?
• Am I solving the real problem, or just the most obvious one?
Another assignment focused on ecosystem mapping.
Again, the biggest insight was not just about animal advocacy.
It was more of understanding that most meaningful change does not happen because one organisation works harder, rather it happens because the right people, institutions, incentives, and relationships are connected in the right way.
So, whether you are building a startup, leading a nonprofit, designing public policy, deploying AI, or managing a team, the same principle applies; systems are really important more than isolated actions.
I left week 1 with a simple reminder I will carry into every project:👇
Don't fall in love with your solution- Fall in love with understanding the problem.
That's usually where the real leverage is.
