We can all hit dead ends. Here are three recommendations to inspire you to tackle wild problems in new ways

The ability to learn and adapt is important in most contexts - and wild problems are no exception. In this week's recommendations, INVI highlights a book on how to create interventions that actually work and a book on how to break down the systems that get in the way when tackling a wild problem. And then you get a political podcast that is well on its way to the top of the Danish podcast charts.

Frederik Langkjær, Head of Research at INVI, recommends 'Gode løsninger' by Dorte Bukdahl

Can't we just scientifically show what works and then politically manage according to that? And if they can get more young people into jobs and education in Esbjerg than in other municipalities, shouldn't we just copy the recipe for the rest of the country?

In Good solutions to difficult social problems , Dorte Bukdahl explains why the obvious answer is not "yes". Because when the problems are wild, the answers are not so simple.

And although Bukdahl focuses mainly on problems from the social field, the book is relevant to anyone working with complex societal challenges. Bukdahl manages to elegantly balance between different social science theories and his own experience from the municipal reality. With points from New Public Management to Design Thinking and examples from Herning to Copenhagen. And the book looks both outwards and inwards. Because in order to deliver good solutions for citizens, the organization - especially public administration - needs to be put together in a way that can keep up.

So if you're looking for tips on how to implement initiatives that actually work, I highly recommend you give Bukdahl's book a read.

Michael Simoni Spjuth, creative writer at INVI, recommends Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know (2021)

Following the beaten path and the paths we know is usually efficient and comfortable. Especially when we know where we're going. 

But what do you do when you realize that the footprints aren't really leading anywhere and may even be perpetuating a system that stands in the way of much-needed change?

My old teacher in organizational behavior, Professor Adam Grant, has written a highly entertaining and thought-provoking book about this.

He points outthat we place disproportionate emphasis on the value of thinking and learning, while the ability to rethink and unlearn is alarmingly overlooked. The message is delivered through a series of simple anecdotes, but there is solid research behind each claim.

Grant unfolds his ideas in the podcast ReThinking in the company of a wide range of prominent guests. 

The podcast can be heard here.

 If that seems a bit too theoretical and abstract now that the light and longing of spring is starting to take hold, I have a more concrete and down-to-earth suggestion for a path you can follow: Walk from Slettestrand to Lønstrup on the west coast of North Jutland. Then you can't help but - for a while - get out of the clutches of the system, the echo chambers of algorithms, your own head and maybe figure out where you're going. I'm biased, but it's uncommonly beautiful up there.

Peter Holm Pedersen, Project Officer at INVI, recommends the podcast 'Lykkeberg and Corydon'

The Lykkeberg and Corydon podcast has become a regular fixture at the top of Danish podcast lists, and we understand why. It's an unusually intelligent conversation between two representatives of two seemingly very different worldviews. Corydon, who as editor-in-chief of Børsen has abandoned all political ideology, and Lykkeberg, the left-wing, well-read activist. You would almost think that the positions could not be any clearer.

But the interesting thing is that it is far from always possible to predict where they stand - and the absence of predictable automatic reactions is wonderfully liberating. This, coupled with a great deal of mutual respect, which is reflected in the fact that they allow each other to complete sometimes half-baked arguments and rarely seem concerned with 'winning' the discussion, makes Lykkeberg and Corydon a pleasant and enriching listening experience. We are perhaps approaching Habermas' ideal of 'the peculiar compulsive compulsion of the better argument'!

Politics in all its diversity takes center stage, but pop culture is also discussed on a grand scale. For example, did you know that Corydon is a Taylor Swift freak, while Lykkeberg is more into Medina?

The podcast is released every Tuesday - so you're also ready to dive into INVI's Wild Problems podcast, which will be released every Wednesday in the coming weeks.