We often get questions in interviews or mains that force us to think like an IAS officer. How do we answer these questions? How do I even begin to think about it? Good students know that these kind of questions need a framework to answer. In our book, ‘The Definitive Guide’ we cover this in the Interview chapter, in page 228. Have a look, if you have already bought the book. If you haven’t, here’s a quick extract for easy reading.
It’s possible that you have studied parts of this approach in your school or college. But if not, dont worry, you have come to the right place. In a recent interview, I talked about the issues with our school and college education system, and how we need to uplift them to create better problem solvers. This is the core of what the UPSC panelists are looking for. Are you a problem solver? Can you think like an IAS officer? Do you belong the cream of Indian leaders?
Civil Servants, top CEOs, efficient program managers, leaders all think like this. It’s called outcome based thinking. How must we think about a problem or challenge, view its solutions, measure their efficiency, understand headwinds and tailwinds and then put the plan in motion. It’s a lot to take in , so let’s go step by step.
Empathize first:
Empathize, Empathize, Empathize. To think like an IAS officer, you must think of the impact to the people, from a variety of dimensions. We often use something like the PESTEL principle, e.g. think about the issue from Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal aspects. This can help you get a multi dimensional view of the issue and open your eyes to the adequacy of the solution.
Brainstorm Constraints:
IAS officer often have to think through the constraints. Cost, quality, speed are the basic trio. Think of the issues in these lines. Is it a cost issue ? Will throwing a lot of money solve the problem? Is the problem itself of ballooning costs? How might you use the economic muscle, or distribute the funds to solve this issue? Is it a quality one? Like education, for instance. Most of the time people have good access to education, but the issue is of the quality of education imparted. Or is this issue just taking too long to implement? At times multiple of these constraints are involved, and sometimes all three. Remember, in the push and pull of cost, quality and speed, one typically focuses on 2 dimensions. You can’t win them all!
List:
Enumerate a list of solutions that u have identified. These maybe yours, or simply solutions that you have seen others mention. A simple google search or chatgpt can help you list these down. Dont judge these solutions yet! That comes next!
Prioritize:
How do your solutions look from the standpoint of value created vs implementation complexity? I often draw this chart to make sense of multiple solutions. The value vs complexity chart is a simple tool that gives you enormous amount of clarity when you begin to rank your solutions. It is basically plotting your solutions in a 2X2 matrix of the value of the solution and the complexity of the implementation. High Value and Low Complexity are the quick wins, the no brainers. Discard the Low value and high complexity ones – just not worth it. The rest , well carefully consider them.
Execution challenges:
What challenges might u face while implementing your solutions? Where might u trip? What are the negative forces here? This about predicting the tailwinds that might disrupt your plan. This is an important aspect of all good problem solving – knowing what to expect. Very very important skill to develop.
Support:
Finally, Support. Always remember to articulate the support you might need from other organizations and departments, or even local people. It is virtually impossible to solve a problem by yourself, sitting in a room. You will need to have a team, the support staff and the wider ecosystem to cooperate. Too often we don’t think of incentivizing the people to follow along or adopt something new, and bright ideas die. How will you win the help of the people involved along the way.
The visuals we put in just help u remember it easily. Heart, Bulb, List, Chart, Plane, Help. Try this to remember the problem solving approach:
“With a heavy HEART and a BULB in my denim jacket, a LIST in my top left shirt pocket, and a CHART tattooed on my back, I got on a PLANE, and shouted HELP”
Hope you can remember it now!! Definitely try this approach if u can’t understand how to deep dive into a growth or development topic. Do leave your comments. Wish you all the best.
