alexander

Leadership Process One: Reframing Problems 53
Concluding Thoughts on
Reframing Problems
By now, I hope you appreciate the extraordinary power of
reframing problems. When confronted with a seemingly
unsolvable problem, you can reframe the problem, solve
that new problem, and eliminate the original problem. I call
this problem displacement. This technique has been in use
for thousands of years, but it has never been studied systematically
or popularized. Obviously, it does not work in
every situation. But when resources are inadequate, the
goals too grand, or the time constraint too short, these are
indicators that maybe you are the problem, because you
have accepted the definition of the problem.
Notice the range of actions Alexander the Great used in
reframing situations: choreographing the battle (at the
River Hydaspes); using the enemy’s strength against them
(elephants); adjusting simple technology (the length of sarissas);
using extra-organizational agencies (the League of
Corinth); not destroying the enemy in order to make them
an ally (Athens); burning the wagons (to gain mobility);
founding cities (to create security and retirement communities);
redefining mutiny (as when Alexander said that
going home was his idea); looking at the sea and seeing land
(at Tyre); foraging the enemy (everywhere); using deception
(to cross the River Hydaspes); and acting without organizing
(initiating the invasion of Persia without an heir). In
hindsight, the outcomes almost seem inevitable. They were
not. Success came from Alexander’s amazing ability to reframe
problems. How, you might ask, can you use such a