How to solve really big problems using co-creation and stakeholder thinking

Executive overview

Leaders routinely rush to implement solutions before understanding the problem. The result: solutions that don't stick because they were imposed rather than built with the people affected.

Co-creation — working alongside those impacted by a problem to unpack root causes and design solutions together — produces outcomes that are more effective, more durable, and often more innovative than any leader could generate alone.

The core insight: letting go of control over the process consistently produces better outcomes than tightening it.

What co-creation actually means

• Start with the problem, not the solution — understand why it has persisted and who else has tried to solve it
• Immerse yourself in the problem rather than just empathising — feel the pain of those living it
• Avoid reinventing the wheel: statistically, you are not the first person in this situation
• Look for solutions already emerging within the affected community — local entrepreneurs and workarounds are data
• Root cause analysis: identify upstream factors so your solution addresses causes, not symptoms
• Classic example: elevator users weren't frustrated by slow speed — they were bored waiting; adding mirrors removed the complaint without engineering the elevator

The three skills of co-creation

• Listening: genuine dialogue with stakeholders, not top-down assumption
• Immersion: making the problem your own, not just observing it
• Identifying existing solutions: mapping what has already been tried and why it did or didn't work

Stakeholder analysis

• A stakeholder is anyone with something to gain or lose if the status quo changes
• Map who will resist, who will be neutral, who can become a partner — don't assume competitors are obstacles
• Pay as much attention to those who stand to lose as to those who stand to gain; overlooked losers become saboteurs
• Goal: get resistors to at least not actively block the change, even if they won't become allies
• Change imposed without stakeholder input will always attract criticism, even when the solution is objectively good
• Papers that say "I will do this" are dead on arrival — change that is about the leader, not the stakeholders, fails

Being a connector, not an inventor

• Leaders don't need to invent solutions; they need to mobilise existing resources and piece together what's already there
• Think of yourself as a catalyst — an enzyme that helps existing ingredients react — not a creator starting from scratch
• Introducing an outside solution into a community without working with its existing resources is unlikely to stick
• Partnerships with unexpected allies can unlock capabilities (marketing, reach, credibility) that an organisation could never build alone

Research as a form of action

• Research is not procrastination — it directs resources toward ideas that have evidence behind them
• Types of research: desk research (competitors, existing solutions), in-person co-creation, and your own data collection via prototypes
• Apply the lean startup approach: form a hypothesis, build a minimal viable product, test it fast, iterate
• A prototype for a service can be a mock-up, a role-play, or a small pilot — not a finished product
• Warning sign: if you can't find anyone else struggling with the same problem, you may be on the wrong path
• If a solution already exists, you must either differentiate geographically or redefine your value proposition

The catering company case study

• Women's Program Association in a Beirut refugee camp wanted to help women generate income; co-creation revealed food was the natural domain
• When orders were low, unpacking the problem revealed three distinct causes: social taboos about ordering from refugees, women's own hesitation about engaging publicly, and low awareness
• The solution was multifaceted because the problem was multifaceted
• Partnerships with an award-winning social enterprise provided marketing legitimacy and market access
• A food truck — an idea that emerged from community conversations, not leadership planning — became the venture's breakthrough; the social entrepreneur had never even heard of food trucks before
• The Kickstarter campaign attracted 800 backers globally, demonstrating that co-created solutions generate their own momentum

Why control undermines quality

• Controlling the process and outcome too tightly — even from passion — produces results that are less satisfying to everyone
• Opening the process to others, including the uncertainty of not knowing the outcome in advance, consistently produces more impressive, more effective, more durable results
• Stakeholders who feel part of the process will accept an imperfect solution; those who feel it was imposed will criticise even a perfect one
• The time invested in building buy-in is never wasted — it is the difference between a solution that lasts and one that fades