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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>From: L. Michael Hall <o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>2025 Neurons #52<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>December 22, 2025</span></font></b><font size=3><span style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-style:italic'>Problem Solving #1</span></font></i><font size=3><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=5 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:20.0pt;font-weight:bold'>THE STRUCTURE OF A PROBLEM<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>What is the actual <i><span style='font-style:italic'>structure </span></i>of a problem? I recently discovered that I had assumed that I knew when actually I did not. That recent discovery occurred <i><span style='font-style:italic'>after </span></i>I did the <i><span style='font-style:italic'>5-Minute Manager </span></i>training in Hong Kong. I took the days after the training to reflect on it, update the manual, and in the process I learned <i><span style='font-style:italic'>a lot of things </span></i>that I did not know during the training. Amazing how that works!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Many decades ago Robert Martin wrote a fascinating book, <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Change Management Excellence </span></i>(1999). It was there that he used the Well-Formed Outcome as his guide for creating a Well-Formed Problem. Later I expanded and develop it further in <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Creative Solutions </span></i>(2017). After having studied the sequence of problems for decades in the context of therapy, I unwittingly assumed that <i><span style='font-style:italic'>the sequence </span></i>itself was the structure. But I was wrong. It is not.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Working with that Martin’s model (and many others over the years) when I expanded the Well-Formed Problem, what resulted was an extensive process for problem-solving. At that time, I really thought that it was <i><span style='font-style:italic'>the structure </span></i>of a problem. However I was confusing the sequence of factors that one could use in gathering information about the problem as the same thing as the actual structure of a problem. Only recently have I become aware of that confusion.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>What I had was a model of the information processes about a problem so that we could clearly and precisely define it—create a <i><span style='font-style:italic'>well-defined problem. </span></i>We do that so that we can then be clear on <i><span style='font-style:italic'>what </span></i>it is to solve. Yet that is not the same as knowing <i><span style='font-style:italic'>the structure of a problem. </span></i>To identify the difference, consider this question: <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Do you have a mental model in your mind of a problem which allows you to see it, to see the problem? What does it looks like? What are its component parts? Does that supply you with a strategy for how to quickly get to the heart of the problem? <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>While the well-formed problem certain provides a lot of clarity and focus, it does not give us a picture of a problem. That’s the difference. So I really did not have a model of the structure. Realizing that enabled me to begin to consider that.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Now one problem with the well-formed problem process is this: It is not quick. In fact, because the processes are thorough and extensive, the process is actually quite time-consuming. And inasmuch as the process does not include <i><span style='font-style:italic'>a problem’s structure, </span></i>it only provides a step-by-step process for gathering high quality information and then generating a description of a well-formed problem. That was a glaring absence in the first edition of the 5-Minute Manager.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>What I find amazing is that I only discovered that a week ago! In all of the preparation leading up to the <i><span style='font-style:italic'>5-Minute Manager</span></i> training, I did not consider that I did not know the structure of a problem. And as I contemplate the scores and scores of books and articles on problem-solving I’ve read over the years, I would say that I don’t think anyone else has ever specified a problem’s <i><span style='font-style:italic'>actual structure. </span></i>Amazing, right?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The day after the training, <i><span style='font-style:italic'>The 5-Minute Manager</span></i> in Hong Kong, I spent several hours reflecting on the training and what I learned. That’s when <i><span style='font-style:italic'>I discovered the missing piece— </span></i>the very <i><span style='font-style:italic'>structure</span></i> of a problem<i><span style='font-style:italic'>.</span></i> Realizing I only had a process for clarity of definition, I asked myself, “What is the actual structure of a problem?” I did not know. In the training I had generated a process of <i><span style='font-style:italic'>7 problem-solving questions</span></i> that would lead a person to clearly defining ‘the real problem’ so it could be solved. But that was the <i><span style='font-style:italic'>how-to</span></i> not a description of the structure. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Now to identify the structure of any experience, we generally begin with all of the variables, ask about how they are sequenced, how they are put together, how they interact with each other, and how they show up in real life. This is what we have been doing in NLP since the beginning. It is what I began doing with <i><span style='font-style:italic'>resilience</span></i> in my modeling of that from 1990 to 1994. So what is the structure of a problem?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>First, a Trigger</span></font></b><font size=3><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Overall, a problem has a trigger, something to which a person responds. That trigger tells the person when to have the problem; it tells the person the place (environment, area, domain, context) where he can be triggered to have a problem. The trigger then activates the person. It works <i><span style='font-style:italic'>as if</span></i> it were a Stimulus— Response pattern (S-R). It is not, but it <i><span style='font-style:italic'>seems</span></i> that way because things get connected. This is the power of association. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Tommy calls us ‘stupid,’ we feel insulted, rejected, or attacked. We associate a bodily feeling (shame and embarrassment) and respond to the trigger with yelling at Tommy or running away. <i><span style='font-style:italic'>It seems</span></i> that the trigger (the words) sets off the emotional problem of the symptom (feeling criticized). But actually the emotions are but symptoms of the problem and not the actual problem.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Next, a Stimulus—Response Connection</span></font></b><font size=3><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Once we have a S-R association, we easily anticipate that if something isn’t done, things are going to get worse. So we worry and fret as we imaginatively anticipate the consequences of the problem (e.g., more and more insults and rejection). Yet once again, the consequences are not the actual problem. They are additional results of the problem like the emotional symptoms. Yet the S-R association doesn’t work all the time or everywhere, only in certain contexts (when we think Tommy means it). In other contexts, it doesn’t generate the problem (when we are joking about the word ‘stupid’). So the context is not the problem.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>After Four Variables, Then the Problem!</span></font></b><font size=3><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>What then is the problem if not these four variables? How is a problem actually structured? First, in the structure of a problem there is first <i><span style='font-style:italic'>a want </span></i>(or a not-want). “I want to be respected by Tommy and called his friend.” And its opposite: “I don’t want to be called ‘stupid.’” There is what I don’t want—the name calling. The name calling blocks me from getting want I want. It is an obstacle that interferes with what I want. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Next, there are <i><span style='font-style:italic'>the meanings</span></i> that I give to the name-calling (e.g., if he calls me stupid, I must be stupid; if he calls me that, he is hating and rejecting me which means the end of the friendship; if Tommy does this, everyone will do this all of my life forever; I’ll never be accepted; I’m flawed and worthless, etc.). <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>With this we now have identified the beginning of the structure of a problem. Problems typically involve the world you live in. You take something, set a desire for something other than that and now you have a gap between where you are today and where you want to be in the future. That <i><span style='font-style:italic'>mental gap</span></i> is the beginning of a problem. It is not yet a problem. To that gap you may think, “This is great, I will apply one or more resources, bridge the gap and achieve what I want.” So what is that? You could call it excitement, passion, taking up a challenge, unleashing your potentials, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>To have a problem, to that mental gap, you need some negative thinking. “Why can’t I have want I ant when I want it?” “It’s going to take time and effort.” “I don’t know how to bridge this gap.” “No one could ever get over that gap; it’s too big.” Add whatever are your favorite lines of negative thinking and now you have a problem. You hare <i><span style='font-style:italic'>in your mind </span></i>an obstacle that blocks you from getting what you want. You have “thrown” (<i><span style='font-style:italic'>blemo</span></i>) in front of you (<i><span style='font-style:italic'>pro-</span></i>) an obstacle— you have created a problem. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>All problems are inside our minds. There are no problems “out there” beyond your cortex! Out there are only <i><span style='font-style:italic'>conditions that we find in the world. </span></i>Out there is what exists. <i><span style='font-style:italic'>Inside your mind is how you think about what exists.</span></i> As the meaning-maker, you are also the problem creator. The structure of the problem lies in <i><span style='font-style:italic'>how</span></i> you think about something, <i><span style='font-style:italic'>what </span></i>you think, and what you think about your thinking. That’s because problems are multi-level layers of thoughts. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Ah, now we are getting close to having a picture of the structure of a problem. Do you want a picture? You can now use <i><span style='font-style:italic'>the Meta Place </span></i>diagram to sketch out its structure. And with that we can begin to understand what a problem is and how a problem works. We can specify our unique strategy for creating any one of our problems. [More in the next posts]<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><img width=649 height=457 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image003.png@01DC7284.C94B7F50"></span></font><font size=3><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><br clear=all style='page-break-before:always'></span></font><font face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=5 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Voting Time for Neuro-Semantics & Meta-Coaching<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:115%'><strong><b><font size=2 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Rankings for the Top 30 NLP Gurus</span></font></b></strong><font size=2 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'> in <strong><b><font face=Calibri><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>December 2025</span></font></b></strong>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:115%;user-select: inherit;scrollbar-color: var(--scrollbar-active-color) #0000;box-sizing: border-box'><font size=2 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Click here: <a href="https://globalgurus.org/vote/nlp/" target="_blank"><font color="#4c8cf6"><span style='color:#4C8CF6'>https://globalgurus.org/vote/nlp/</span></font></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:10.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:115%;user-select: inherit;scrollbar-color: var(--scrollbar-active-color) #0000;box-sizing: border-box'><strong><b><font size=2 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>“Vote for the Best Development Programs,”</span></font></b></strong><font size=2 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'> and enter your program’s name and details here: <a href="https://globalgurus.org/best-nlp-development-program/" target="_blank"><font color="#4c8cf6"><span style='color:#4C8CF6'>https://globalgurus.org/best-nlp-development-program/</span></font></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt'>Executive Director, ISNS<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-weight:bold'>738 Beaver Lodge<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-weight:bold'>Grand Jct., CO. 81505 USA<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><a href="mailto:meta@acsol.net">meta@acsol.net</a> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Calibri><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p></div></body></html>