Problem or Issue, when does an issue become a problem

Problem and Issue are two words that are often confused as two words that give the same meaning, although they are not so, and there are some differences between the two terms.

We all have"Business Issues" that we face every day -- and that we do nothing about. "Our network is slow, our storefront traffic is not ideal, our email newsletter open rate isn't ideal," and so on. We sometimes live with these Business Issues. But sometimes a business issue becomes a business problem when it doesn't change, or it becomes a more significant issue. A business problem is one that we are eager to address through the use of resources -- people, time, or money -- to get it solved or fixed.

Here's a great example of the difference:

How long would you fund a low performing marketing advertising campaign? A couple of days? A week? Month? Longer? You might be willing to accept 30 days, but beyond that, you might pause the campaign and evaluate whether paying for another 30 days make sense. You don't have enough sales leads, your conversion rate is less than ideal, your close rate is low; your time to close is longer than usual.

These are all issues, but not a systemic business problem. Now, if your revenue is declining quarter over quarter, then we can identify each of those issues and see if they are interconnected. If your sales team continues to miss their numbers across the board, month over month, quarter over quarter, that is a problem worth solving. It doesn't imply one Issue is the cause, but maybe its a much larger issue.

Consider this analogy:

if your car makes a dull squeak, you take notice but don't take your car into the mechanic every time you hear one. On the other hand, one squeak that shifts to a howl or the flip side, what if the brake warning light came on? People would get their car looked, and spending a couple of hundred dollars for the repair because it was indeed a problem.

The same applies in business, a small squeak is ok, but many squeaks sometimes means there is a bigger problem. When your brake light (missed KPI) turns on, its time to accurately identify the problem, discuss the problem with your team, identify solutions, and implement the solution.