The Solution Seeking System

David Baxter
Aug 8, 2025
6 min read

A framework for democratic problem solving, leadership, and communication.

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I. Introduction

The Solution Seeking System (SSS) is a structured communication framework designed to help individuals and organizations solve interpersonal problems, navigate conflict, and continuously improve their shared environments. It was developed at Beanchain Coffee—a worker-directed café committed to cooperative principles—as a way to foster understanding, accountability, and trust without relying on traditional hierarchical discipline systems.

Unlike most top-down management methods, SSS encourages co-creation of solutions through compassion, clarity, and introspection. The system can be applied in a wide range of settings—workplaces, relationships, community groups—and works alongside any leadership model.

II. Purpose and Vision

What It Aims to Do:

Help people solve communication breakdowns and interpersonal conflicts
Foster a healthy workplace democracy
Turn workplaces and communities into Living Systems—adaptive, participant-driven ecosystems
Empower individuals to take leadership in understanding, collaboration, and system design

The Bigger Picture:

By enabling better communication and decision-making, SSS tackles core drivers of poverty like disempowerment, inequality, and organizational dysfunction. The end goal is to build a cooperative, just economy supported by resilient systems.

“If we want to have Democracy in the workplace through systems like Cooperatives, we first need great communication. Communication is hard, and we’re trying to put a common sense framework around good communication and problem solving.”

III. Core Structure

1. The Communication Protocol

This 3-step process is the core protocol of the SSS:

a. Introspection

“First, understand your perspective and then work to understand the other perspective with compassion.”

Forgive and move past initial feelings. Don’t be blinded by passion.
Identify your actual feelings, needs, and motivations.
Avoid reactive emotions or blame.
Check your intentions: Are you trying to help, punish, or control?
Ground yourself in kindness, clarity, and emotional honesty.
By applying compassion and critical thinking

Example: Instead of being hurt that someone was rude to you, and risk being rude back. Ask yourself some questions like: “Why does that hurt me?”, “Could I have misunderstood them?”, “Why might they have acted that way?”, “What might they be feeling?”, “Do they know they hurt my feelings?”. Answer those questions and ask yourself more uncomfortable questions until you understand your feelings and perspective.

b. Mutual Understanding

“The Other Person's Perspective is unknowable until you ask them.”

Ask clarifying and reflective questions.
Assume good faith.
Avoid jumping to conclusions or assigning intent.
Use patient listening to uncover deeper truths.

Effective communication is essential for reaching mutual understanding and building trust. It requires the wisdom principles of bravery, patience, empathy, flexibility, good faith, and trust. The goal is to reach understanding through open and vulnerable dialogue.

c. Solution Seeking

“Now that we understand each other, what can we do together?”

Generate actionable, measurable, and mutually beneficial solutions.
Look for patterns, habits, or tools—not just one-time fixes.
Use creative thinking and experiment where needed.

Example: After discussing scheduling issues, the team might agree to add a shared calendar and do 5-minute shift check-ins.

IV. Key Terminology

System	Any group of people working or interacting together (e.g., a team, a relationship, a community, or an organization). A system can contain many other systems within it.
Living System	A system that is actively built and improved using solutions generated through the Communication Protocol.
Solution	An actionable and measurable plan, pattern, or tool that can improve a System.
Leader (Servant)	A person who takes responsibility for the health of the system and its people, not for control, but for care.
Leadership Tools	Practices that apply the Communication Protocol to real-world issues
Wisdom Principles	Ethical values (e.g. fairness, understanding) that guide SSS use and are used within the Communication Protocol
Communication Protocol	The three-step communication pattern that forms the foundational pattern of the SSS: Introspection Mutual Understanding Solution Seeking Produces solutions as an output that can be applied to a system

V. Philosophical Foundations

The SSS is rooted in the belief that discipline should not be punitive, but transformative. The system assumes that people do well when they can, and that communication failure is a systems problem, not a personal flaw.

“Understanding is the principle that supports all others in the Solution Seeking System. The presupposition that everyone is genuinely capable of understanding one another with enough patience, bravery, vulnerability, and compassion is the foundation that the process we're building here is built upon.”

The Four Pillars of Understanding:

Patience: People’s experiences and traumas take time to unpack.
Vulnerability: Openness is required to share needs and fears.
Bravery: Honest conversations often require courage.
Compassion: Understanding someone does not require agreement, only care.

VI. Leadership Tools

These tools use the protocol in practical ways and escalate in seriousness. Each is designed to empower, not punish.

Tool	Description
Feedback	Meant to correct behaviours and create understanding while offering a chance to ask questions. Should teach the reason behind a rule or practice. It can also serve to detect outdated policies.
Targeted Conversations	When feedback isn’t enough, or when something is complicated, involves emotions, or is more nuanced. Always private and works towards mutual understanding, then a solution to the problem. It should serve to build trust with one another and show good faith.
Solution Seeking Sessions	Formal, collaborative problem-solving. This is almost identical to Targeted conversions, but it's more formal and documented. It’s meant to signal a more serious problem and work to produce a solution that can be implemented.
One-on-Ones	Regular, proactive check-ins to build trust, catch issues early, and grow relationships.

Escalation: After repeated unproductive sessions or severe issues (e.g. cruelty, no-shows), further action (like termination) may occur—but only with documentation and good faith attempts at resolution first.

VII. Wisdom Principles

Wisdom Principles are the “source code” of the system. They guide how each part of the protocol is applied. Each principle is documented using a consistent format:

Description
1. What it is
2. How it is used within the Solution Seeking System
Best Practices
1. Clear guidance on using or understanding this principle
Goals
1. What we're trying to accomplish with this principle
Antigoals
1. What we don't want to result from the use of this principle
Practice Patterns / Education
FAQ / Common issues
1. This can be built over time as we encounter them
2. Should contain solutions and clarifications concerning the principle
3. Great example of using solution seeking in the Solution Seeking System

Wisdom Principles:

Understanding
Good Faith
Forgiveness
Humility(and understanding Pride)
Compassion and Empathy
Bravery
Vulnerability
Patience
Fairness
Integrity(Consistency)
Flexibility
Critical Thinking

Each principle is meant to be teachable, practicable, and integrated into how leaders and teams operate.

VIII. Implementation & Application

The SSS is used across every level of Beanchain’s operations:

Hiring, onboarding, and team development
Conflict resolution
Daily guidance and checklists
Organizational structure and system design

It can be layered onto any existing leadership style. You don’t need to change your structure—just improve how people communicate within it.

The protocol adapts to:

Teams
Friendships
Partner relationships
Customer interactions
Community organizing

IX. Impact: Fighting Poverty Through Communication

The Solution Seeking Cooperative is being formed to expand the system nationally. Here’s how SSS supports equity:

Voice & Agency: People help shape their environments.
Skill Development: Participants build real-world communication and problem-solving skills.
Job Security & Resilience: Systems improve instead of collapsing under pressure.
Cooperative Growth: A democratic network of workplaces can emerge from shared tools

X. Summary Model

SSS Flowchart: Introspection → Mutual Understanding → Solution Seeking → Implement Solution → Living System → Repeat

The Solution Seeking System is meant to be applied over any leadership philosophy/style and to empower that System to be more useful and bespoke to its participants. It doesn't replace the current leadership model, only assists. The Communication Protocol can be used with existing leadership tools to produce Solutions that can be implemented in a system to improve it. A system being acted on in this way is called a Living System

The Leadership tools we use primarily are feedback, one-on-ones, Targeted conversations, and formal solution-seeking sessions. Any leadership tool can be used with the Solution Seeking System. It just needs to employ the core communication protocol to create solutions that can be used to improve the system that it is a part of.

Understanding the principles of wisdom that we use in the Communication Protocol is necessary to use it effectively. They help support the work that needs to be done to reach mutual understanding and produce effective solutions reliably.