Did you know there's a podcast all about solving problems? Not just any problems, the problems businesses face. The start up problems, the maturity problems, the culture problems and of course the marketing problems.
Jason Feifer, Enterpreneur's editor in chief, hosts this weekly show and asks the question we'd all like the answer to; how do large and small businesses solve their big problems?
With an average episode length of less than 20 minutes this funny, informative and insightful podcast has won it's way into my heart.
I loved it so much in fact I reached out to Jason on instagram to thank him for an episode I shared with a client to help move his business forward. Episode 31: How do you find your first customers?
And Jason responded! He also passed my gratitude on to Keith Krach, the man he interviewed in the episode!
A few weeks later I had an idea to spend an entire week on problem solving and feature "Problem Solvers." While I could share episodes and why you should listen I thought it would be more meaningful to ask the creator himself. And true to form, Jason said "sure!"
What was the impetus for “Problem Solvers?"
My entire philosophy for Entrepreneur magazine is based around problem solving: It’s the very core of what an entrepreneur does, and no matter what scale someone’s working at, they can appreciate and relate to others’ efforts to solve problems. I’d wanted to launch a podcast for Entrepreneur, and so this concept felt like a natural extension.
What has been your favorite “Problem Solvers” episode?
When the cookie dough company DŌ opened up in Manhattan, serving raw dough in scoops as if it were ice cream, it immediately became a viral sensation. People lined up for literal hours in the freezing cold, waiting to get a scoop. These kinds of things always get press coverage, but it typically happens from the consumers’ point of view—what it’s like to wait for so long, and whether the wait was worth it, and so on. But I wanted to know what it’s like from the entrepreneur’s point of view. Moments like this create so much pressure, and force an entrepreneur to restructure their entire business. So I loved hearing the founder Kristen’s tale of what it was like. (Hint: More stressful than fun!)
How has “Problem Solvers” changed your view of the world or affirmed it?
Affirmed it. This isn’t going to be an especially revelatory answer, but: Entrepreneurs solve problems. I knew that if I asked them to zoom in on a particular problem and how they solved it, I’d get fascinating stories that others could learn from.
In your opinion, where do great ideas come from?
Discomfort. I think the most dangerous thing we can do is make ourselves too comfortable. It’s when we stop thinking critically, and start focusing on preserving our comfort. But when we’re uncomfortable—when change is happening, when the pressure’s on, when it’s do or die—we’re willing to try crazy things. And that’s when we come up with the most amazing ideas.
The reason I enjoy “Problem Solvers” is because the answers are incredibly simple and typically right under the business owner’s nose. (An “ah ha” for me was in episode 33 with the Butterie butter dish creator. Airports! Brilliant!) You sound genuinely shocked when interviewing these people. What is going through your head when they share these simple hacks?
Yeah, that’s true. To be honest with you, most of the amazing things in our lives are actually pretty simple. It’s rare to have a truly revelatory moment—like, a shocking, the-sky-turned-green, dogs-are-actually-cats, objects-floating-in-space kind of moment. Instead, genius ideas are often ones that we hear and they simply make sense… and that’s because they’re based on logic we already have. It’s just that we didn’t initially connect the dots. But when we hear how other people do make those connections, it helps us think about the connections in our own lives.
So, what’s going on in my head? Truthfully, when I’m interviewing someone for the show, I’m mostly trying to get them to express that logic. How did they think through something? How did they know? That, I believe, is the moment that really stands out for listeners.
You’ve been professionally employed as a writer/editor since 2002 and I’m sure well before that in high school and college. In that time I’m sure “getting the story” was a challenge at times. How have you personally problem solved in your career?
It’s all about skillsets. Throughout my career, I tried to be extremely conscious of what I did and didn’t know, and what I was able and unable to do, and then to seek out opportunities that would strategically fill in the gaps. I took specific jobs because of the skills they’d teach me—packaging (which is a form of editing), long-form editing, editorial direction, and so on. In my career, if I wasn’t able to properly tell or report a story, I’d take it as a learning experience: There was still something else I needed to learn.
You’re in your thirty-fifth episode as of the date of this interview, what topics do you want to explore that you haven’t yet addressed?
It’s funny you ask that, because that’s never how I approach the show. I don’t have a list of problems that I’m looking for people to talk about. I never did. It really happens in reverse: I ask people to tell me about an interesting problem they faced. I tell them I’m looking for a problem that forced them to rethink how they do or think about business. Then, once they detail the problem and the solution, I decide if it would make a good episode. This way, I’m keeping the show wide open: I’m just following the path set forth by the entrepreneurs I talk to, reflecting their world as best as I can, rather than forcing people to fit into my own expectations. It’s worked so far!
So the next time you find yourself sitting in traffic on your commute home or maybe even simply pumping gas (some episodes are that short!), pull out your phone and download this podcast.
Follow Jason on Twitter and Instagram. You can also sign up for his monthly newsletter, The Feifer Five, by going to his website.