"You don't fix the problem until you define it"
About this Quote
Policy failure loves a foggy noun. John W. Snow’s line is a deceptively plain rebuke to the way institutions pretend to act while avoiding the discomfort of precision. “Fix” is the seductive verb here: it implies competence, urgency, and a tidy before-and-after. Snow undercuts that fantasy by insisting on the unglamorous prerequisite - “define it” - a step that sounds bureaucratic until you realize it’s where power fights.
The intent is managerial, almost clinical: problem definition is not prelude, it is the work. In economics and public policy, the “problem” can be framed as inflation or wage stagnation, crime or poverty, a liquidity crunch or a solvency crisis. Each label drags in different villains, victims, metrics, and policy tools. Snow’s subtext: if you can control the definition, you can control the solution space. Vague language is not a neutral mistake; it’s often a political convenience. Leaders can promise fixes to “the economy” while quietly choosing which pain counts and which gets normalized.
Contextually, Snow’s career in government and finance sits inside a culture that prizes decisive action, quarterly results, and press-ready narratives. His sentence resists that tempo. It reads like advice, but it’s also a warning: rushed “solutions” are frequently misdiagnoses with a budget. The quote works because it turns a common-sense truism into an accountability trap - if someone can’t define the problem clearly, they’re not ready to spend your money, your time, or your trust trying to solve it.
The intent is managerial, almost clinical: problem definition is not prelude, it is the work. In economics and public policy, the “problem” can be framed as inflation or wage stagnation, crime or poverty, a liquidity crunch or a solvency crisis. Each label drags in different villains, victims, metrics, and policy tools. Snow’s subtext: if you can control the definition, you can control the solution space. Vague language is not a neutral mistake; it’s often a political convenience. Leaders can promise fixes to “the economy” while quietly choosing which pain counts and which gets normalized.
Contextually, Snow’s career in government and finance sits inside a culture that prizes decisive action, quarterly results, and press-ready narratives. His sentence resists that tempo. It reads like advice, but it’s also a warning: rushed “solutions” are frequently misdiagnoses with a budget. The quote works because it turns a common-sense truism into an accountability trap - if someone can’t define the problem clearly, they’re not ready to spend your money, your time, or your trust trying to solve it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Decision-Making |
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