Originally Posted by Bekologist
HH, looking at the issues N_C faces in Iowa is not viewable as a problem/solution equasion. it is a quality issue.
quality of life, quality of community. quality of riding.
Problem/solution is dichotomous and does NOT address what N_C is looking at. Status Quo versus improvements in quality of non motorized transportation infrastructure, N_C.
Don't listen to HH, he's the anti-cyclist. he's just mining for information to use against community bicycling advocacy, bro.
Everything can be viewed as a problem/solution.
For example, making chocolate chip cookies solves the problem of a desire for something warm, crispy, sweet and chocolaty being unfulfilled.
"Quality issues" are about the problem of the level of quality of something being too low. Such a problem needs to be described in terms of what it is that has a quality level that is too low, what that level is currently, explaining the ramifications of that quality being as low as it is, what benefits there would be from higher quality, what that higher level should be, and why.
In this case, understanding the problem(s) that you (N_C) want solved is only the first step.
Understanding the problem(s) that others want solved is also essential.
Ultimately, you want to identify and propose solutions that solve their problems as well as yours, with emphasis on how they solve their problems (assuming they could care less about your problems, unless they happen to be the same).
It's not about "kissing butt". It's about working together with those whose cooperation you require to solve your problems.
Thinking in terms of problem(s)/solution(s) is essential to accomplishing that.