Monday Motivation: A New Approach To Solving Problems, The BUILD Process

Sometimes I don’t know what to do when I find a need or problem in the society that I am passionate about. All I know is that I want to be part of the people that worked to solve the problem. This post will tell you about the BUILD process which is a new approach to solving problems in the society.

I made some research and stumbled upon the African Leadership Academy in South Africa. I fell in love completely with the approach they came up with to solve problems. They call it ‘the BUILD process’. BUILD stands for Believe, Understand, Invent, Listen, and Deliver.

This is how the process goes:

1. Believe: The first questions you need to ask yourself are “Do I believe that I can do this? Can I really solve this problem?”. You need to believe that you can make the change that you so much desire and are passionate about. Once you believe, then half the problem is already solved.
2. Understand: You need to understand the problem in the society. There are probably many causes of the problem but you have to dig deeper to find out what the root cause is before you can start action.
3. Invent: Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, said “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.” I put this here because this is the stage where you have to get ready to fail but not let failure limit you. The only time you really fail is when you stop trying. It’s at this stage that Invention begins. Write down 50 possible solutions to the need you identified and then filter down to the best solution considering the factors of time, availability of resources and financial status. You can ask your friends and family to help you in filtering down to the best solution.
4. Listen: After inventing, you have to get feedback on your solution so that you can make it better. Show your invention to your family and friends. Let them tell you what they like and what you can work on. This will help you refine your solution so that it comes closer to the best version it can be.
5. Deliver: After getting feedback and incorporating the feedback into your solution, you begin to act. Go show the solution to the public society. Go solve that problem you are so passionate about.

One thing to know in using the BUILD process is that you don’t give up, no matter how many times you fail. You still need to keep going even when the motivation is not there. Keep trying and don’t look at the time going, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. There you have it guys. Start using the BUILD process today!