The Basadur Simplexity process is eight structured steps: problem finding, fact finding, problem definition, idea finding, evaluating and selecting, planning, gaining acceptance, taking action. Each step has a rhythm. Divergent thinking expands the possibility space. Convergent thinking narrows it. Deferral of judgment, the radical rule, means you never close a door too early.
Teams that have been circling the same drain for months. Problems that feel stuck because the problem itself is misframed. Situations where the first five solutions are obvious and wrong. When you need not just an answer but a team that can answer the next question too.
Wycliffe USA was seven months deep in a project, and the team had built something, but it wasn't moving. They called us in. Within three days of applying Simplexity, really applying it, not decorating with it, they had an MVP that worked. The shift wasn't a new feature. It was seeing what the real problem was, not the problem they'd been solving. That's the lens at work.
We run the team through the process together. You watch it work in real time. Problem finding means interviewing the people who touch the challenge every day, the ones who see what leadership misses. Fact finding surfaces what you actually know versus what you're assuming. Problem definition is the hardest step and the most rewarding: here, the real problem gets named. Everything downstream gets easier because now you're solving something that's actually solvable.
Idea finding is where creativity shows up, but by then, it's directed creativity, not brainstorm theater. And because you've deferred judgment, the team isn't defending past decisions; they're building on fresh ground.
Work with this lens: Creative Problem-Solving Workshops. Or read the field note: The Simplexity framework, step by step.
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