I don’t know what it is about defining the problem you want to solve, but most humans are uncomfortable staying in that conversation for any length of time. This is even more the case when talking about technology. We want to race off to the solution. It's like we’re allergic to talking about the problem. 

Most people get annoyed with me when I ask the question “What problem are you trying to solve?” Back when we were face to face, they would look at me with an eyeroll like they felt sorry for me because clearly I couldn’t keep up with them because they were already onto their solution. I used to get annoyed by this, but now not so much. When you are engaging with more than one person, chances are the group doesn’t actually agree on what problem they are trying to solve, and chances are nobody will try to get everyone on the same page. If you don’t know what the problem is, how confident can you be in your solution?

What is the result of meeting to “solve something” if you don’t have a clear definition of what you’re solving? I’ll summarize: wasted time, wasted money, frustration, and opportunity cost. When you fail to define the problem and get alignment around it, you implement solutions that miss the mark. You spin your wheels and then are surprised that they don’t convert to relief. Unfortunately, most of these “misses” get categorized as the wrong solution when most of them are due to lack of clarity around the problem.