The Story of A Man with a Wicked Problem
Early one morning in the winter of 1906-7, Henry Ford dropped in at the pattern department of his Piquette Avenue plant to see Charles Sorensen. He’d be mulling over his own Wicked Problem, how to produce a simple, affordable car. ‘Come with me, Charlie,’ he said, ‘I want to show you something.’
Charlie followed him to the third floor and its north end, which was not fully occupied for assembly work. He looked about and said, ‘Charlie, I’d like to have a room finished off right here in this space. Put up a wall with a door in big enough to run a car in and out. Get a good lock for the door, and when you’re ready, we’ll have Joe Galamb come up in here. We’re going to start a completely new job.’
The room he had in mind became the maternity ward for Model T.
Five years later, at the end of 1913, a new concept, the power-driven assembly line was unveiled at the Piquette Avenue plant. From Joe Galamb’s little room on the third floor had come a revolutionary vehicle, and though that little car ushered in a new era for travel…it was Henry Ford’s solution to his Wicked Problem that changed the course of history. Ford mass production and a new era in industrial history had begun, the Industrial Age.
The Age of Wicked Problems
Though the Industrial Age has given us the power to churn out high-quality beauty products and treatments at affordable prices, it has also trapped us in a tangle of what social planner Horst Rittel labeled “Wicked Problems”. Problems that are persistent, pervasive, and complex. Our industry itself has changed in response to the New Century, an era of complexity, with unprecedented inter-connectivity, scale, novelty, unforeseen new structures with unexpected new properties, and radical innovation and transformation. These problems and issues are “wicked.” There is no definite formulation of the problem.
Wicked problems often crop up when organizations have to face constant change or unprecedented challenges. That’s us. That’s today.
Remaining relevant, providing better products and services, fighting for success in an already overcrowded market are a few that we face. Manufacturers, distributors, even salons and spas, all have Wicked Problems. At Élan Marketing and Events, we work with you to turn your Wicked Problems into Bottom Line Success…but just like Henry Ford’s Wicked Problem, the problem itself and the journey to its solution are different depending on who you are. Explore the menu in the upper left to learn how we will work with you to overcome your own Wicked Problems.
