Reframing and redefining problems can open you up to new ways of seeing, making it much easier to discover truly breakthrough solutions.

That said, there are a few common pitfalls that you’ll want to avoid.

Pitfall #1: Assuming the Best Solution Has to Be Complicated

How often have you disregarded an idea, only because it sounded too easy to pull off? Is it possible that you’ve been missing out on potentially breakthrough solutions disguised as simple fixes?

Think about the story I recently shared about Embrace Infant Warmer. The problem was reframed from “get more incubators into hospitals,” to “keep more babies warm, particularly ones who don’t have access to hospitals or electricity.”

The solution, a relatively low-tech device that costs about 1/800th that of a traditional incubator, turned out to be pretty straightforward—and yet still extraordinarily effective.

Pitfall #2: Embedding the Answer Within the Question

How often do you define a problem based on your subjective opinion about its root cause? Is it possible that you may be making assumptions that bias your thinking and reduce the likelihood of seeing new solutions?

Imagine your sales have dropped 28 percent over the last 3 months. Your tendency might be to immediately frame the problem based on a limited set of similar experiences.

Instead of starting with, “Sales have dropped by 28 percent over the last 3 months,” you might frame the problem as something like, “Sales are dropping because we’re not innovating enough.”

By defining “lack of innovation” as the root cause, and “innovating more” as the only viable solution, you’ve prematurely limited the scope of options and made it that much harder to discover a better idea.

Pitfall #3: Underestimating the Impact of a Fresh Approach

How often do you assume that even a breakthrough solution can only make a marginal difference to your overall situation? Is it possible that you’re staying stuck in the status quo because you don’t truly believe that a better approach will have much of an impact?

The story I shared of Downtown Dog Rescue shows just how life-changing even a slightly different approach can be.

By shifting the frame from “increasing the number of adoptions” to “reducing the number of people surrendering their dogs to shelters,” they were able to help thousands of families keep their pets while freeing up shelter space for other animals in need. And all while dropping the cost for every pet helped from $85 to about $60.

What will you do today to avoid these and other potential pitfalls?

Will you take more time to check your assumptions before diving into solution mode?