Make Progress on the Problems That Don’t Have Simple Solutions
A practical, systems-informed approach for professionals working on poverty, homelessness, crime, and other tough public problems.
Want to join us?
Join hundreds of readers of The Effective Problemsolver for one actionable tip every other Tuesday. Always 4 minutes or less.
Hi—I’m Bryan Lindsley. I help social sector leaders become more effective.
We all want to make real progress—help more people, use resources wisely, and move the needle on problems like poverty, homelessness, and public safety.
Yet even experienced, well-funded teams often stall.
Not because they lack commitment or urgency—but because they’re acting on an incomplete understanding of how the problem actually works.
Complex problems don’t respond to harder work or better execution alone.
They respond to clearer thinking.
I help public, nonprofit, and philanthropic leaders learn how to see complex problems as they really are—as systems shaped by incentives, constraints, feedback loops, and human behavior.
Using practical tools from systems thinking and complexity science, I show you how to:
—Make sense of messy, contradictory realities
—Distinguish fundamental drivers from surface symptoms
—Identify leverage points that are realistic, not theoretical
—Design strategies that adapt instead of breaking when conditions change
The result isn’t a silver bullet.
It’s something more useful: better decisions, fewer false starts, and steady progress on problems that don’t have simple solutions.
This isn’t about importing top-down frameworks or chasing the latest “best practice.”
The problem itself holds the clues.
I’ll help you learn how to see them—and act on them.
Three Ways I Can Help You
The Effective Problemsolver
Opportunity to
gain deeper understanding.
Opportunity to
build real problem-solving skills.
Opportunity to
make more impact.
Subscribe to begin
Join hundreds of readers of The Effective Problemsolver for one actionable tip every other Tuesday. Always 4 minutes or less.