When leadership teams can’t agree on what’s wrong, progress stalls. In this episode of What’s Your Problem?, Kevin Popović, The Idea Guy®, explains how leaders can use the Four Frames Model—Structural, Human Resource, Political, and Symbolic—to see problems from multiple perspectives. You’ll learn why every leader may be “right but incomplete,” and how clarity comes from integrating viewpoints, not defending them. Because when leaders see the whole picture, they can finally move forward together.

Read the full column: https://www.sdbj.com/commentary/whats-your-problem-21/
Send your question to [email protected].

When everything feels uncertain, innovation can stall. In this episode of What’s Your Problem?, Kevin Popović, The Idea Guy®, explains how to create clarity in a VUCA world—one defined by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. You’ll learn how to use the VUCA framework as a lens to identify what’s changing, what’s unclear, and what’s slowing you down—so your team can adapt faster and focus on the right problems. Innovation doesn’t start with more ideas. It starts with understanding what kind of problem you’re really solving.

Read the full column: https://www.sdbj.com/commentary/whats-your-problem-20/
Send your question to [email protected].

Some companies talk about innovation—but don’t actually practice it. In this episode of What’s Your Problem?, Kevin Popović, The Idea Guy®, explains how to spot the difference between innovation as performance and innovation as practice. You’ll learn three warning signs of “innovation imposters,” why most organizations have an intention problem—not an innovation problem—and what it takes to move from talking about change to truly leading it.

Read the full column: https://www.sdbj.com/commentary/whats-your-problem-19/
Send your question to [email protected].

AI is changing how work gets done—and challenging how organizations are designed. In this episode of What’s Your Problem?, Kevin Popović, The Idea Guy®, explores what happens when staff lean into AI faster than leadership can adapt. You’ll learn four key shifts for the AI era: from change management to change readiness, rank to impact, knowledge to adaptability, and managers as gatekeepers to coaches. AI isn’t ending leadership—it’s demanding better leadership.

Read the full column: https://www.sdbj.com/commentary/whats-your-problem-18/
Send your question to [email protected].

When innovation stalls, everyone talks about it—but no one takes ownership. In this episode of What’s Your Problem?, Kevin Popović, The Idea Guy®, explains why innovation isn’t a job title but a shared responsibility. You’ll learn how executives sponsor innovation, managers make it real, employees bring the ideas, and leaders orchestrate the process. If your organization hasn’t innovated in years, this episode shows how to restart momentum—one leader, one experiment, one idea at a time.

Read the full column: https://www.sdbj.com/commentary/whats-your-problem-17/
Send your question to [email protected].

Most people think design is decoration—logos, colors, and campaigns. But real design is much more than aesthetics. In this episode of What’s Your Problem?, Kevin Popović, The Idea Guy®, explains why design is really about making sense of things—bringing clarity to complexity, connecting people and ideas, and enabling action.

You’ll learn:

• The difference between decoration and design

• The three principles that make design a business advantage: clarity, connection, and action

• A simple way to spot where design can create value inside your organization

When design delivers clarity and confidence, innovation follows.

Read the full column on the San Diego Business Journal: https://www.sdbj.com/commentary/whats-your-problem-16/

Have a problem worth solving? Send your question to [email protected]—it could be featured in a future episode.