Paint & Pipette: The Art & Science of Innovation S3E03: Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution with Uri Levine
As entrepreneurs, we are often so focused on finding solutions that we forget what matters most: the problem itself. And maybe we avoid the problem because we are afraid to fail, but as today’s guest eloquently explains, failure is the only true route to success! For today’s conversation, we are joined by the co-founder of Waze and serial entrepreneur, Uri Levine. Uri has just written a new book, Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution, which is a practical guide for entrepreneurs on how to endure the rollercoaster of failure – faster and with more fun! Our chat explores the importance of prioritizing and documenting the problem, moving beyond mere conversation and toward building conviction, how falling in love with a problem will help you stay on mission and persevere through failure, and how to find the balance between experimentation and having a clear, focused path. Uri shares why failure is an absolute necessity and how failing faster is always better, before coaching established brands through the ins and outs of disruptions. To end, we discuss whether it’s better to solve a problem for yourself or others or both, and the extremely passionate and knowledgeable Uri Levine shows us how innovators, enthusiastic amateurs, early adopters, the early majority, and first-time users influence how you solve your organizational problems.
Key Points From This Episode:
- Introducing the very passionate serial entrepreneur, Uri Levine.
- When Uri first realized that the problem is more important than the solution.
- His process for documenting problems, and when he first started making these notes.
- How he approaches people about a particular problem.
- Moving beyond conversation to build conviction.
- Being elected: falling in love with a problem to endure through failure; staying on mission.
- Threading the needle between experimentation and maintaining focus.
- Why failure is necessary for success, and how it helps to fail faster.
- The innovation dilemma: coaching established brands through disruptions.
- When to invest in a disrupter versus when to become one yourself.
- Solving a problem for yourself versus solving it for someone else.
- Organizational problems: how solving them may become your competitive advantage.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: