Albert Einstein once said, “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” This quote is relevant to the world of entrepreneurship, where entrepreneurs often struggle to build an audience and sell their product or service.

As I started my journey into game development with Sabr Path, I looked at what other small indie developers were doing to build their audience. I noticed that many of them focused their social media outreach on game development content, such as dev vlogs, tutorials, and courses on making games. However, I realized that this approach had a major flaw: even if these indie devs build a social media following, their social media following consists mainly of other indie devs. Developers are not the target audience when you’re trying to sell a game.

To overcome this challenge, I had to think differently and develop a dragonfly-eye view of the problem. The dragonfly-eye approach is a problem-solving technique that involves looking at a problem from multiple perspectives, beyond the familiar tropes that our pattern-recognizing brains tend to assemble perceptions into. This approach is inspired by the compound eyes of dragonflies, which enable them to see multiple perspectives that are not available to humans.

• Widening the aperture: This involves viewing a problem through multiple lenses to identify threats or opportunities beyond the periphery of vision. It means looking beyond the obvious and exploring different angles to see things that others might not see.
• Anchoring outside: This means taking the broader ecosystem as a starting point rather than looking inside. It encourages you to talk with customers, suppliers, or players in a different but related industry or space. By expanding the scope of the problem, you can identify the root cause and find the right solution.
• Defining a target audience: To solve a problem effectively, you need to understand who you are trying to help. Defining a target audience can help you create a clear vision of the problem and develop solutions that meet their specific needs. This requires research and understanding of your customer’s behavior and preferences.
• Design-thinking: Design thinking is a process that focuses on the end-user and their needs. It involves empathy for the customer, creative brainstorming, prototyping, and iteration. By using design thinking, you can create a customer-centric solution that addresses the root cause of the problem.

By following the dragonfly-eye approach, you can develop a holistic understanding of a problem and identify a broader set of leverage points to create effective solutions. It encourages you to think creatively and consider all angles before developing a solution. For my social media outreach, rather than focusing solely on game development content, I began sharing content that would appeal to my target audience of gaming enthusiasts.

In conclusion, if you’re struggling with a problem, remember that the solution to your problem may require a different level of thinking. By developing a dragonfly-eye view and looking at the problem through multiple lenses, you may be able to identify new opportunities and solutions that you would not have otherwise seen. And if you need help developing an actionable plan to achieve your goals, consider investing in yourself with my 12 week accountability coaching program. Together, we can work towards creating the successful and fulfilling future you deserve.