What is a Solutionary?
Solutionary [suh-LOO-shuh ner-ee]
Noun
Someone who identifies inhumane, unjust, and unsustainable societal systems and then develops solutions to transform them so that they do the most good and least harm for people, animals, and the environment.
Adjective
Pertaining to or characterized by solving problems in a strategic, systemic way that does the most good and least harm to people, animals, and the environment.
What’s the difference between a solutionary and a problem-solver?
When solutionaries seek to solve a problem, they identify all who are impacted by the problem and the systems that perpetuate it. This includes all people, other species, and the environment. Once they understand the systems that create and support the problem, they devise a solutionary solution.
What’s the difference between a solutionary and a humanitarian?
Humanitarians – those who seek to alleviate suffering and directly help others, whether human or nonhuman – serve a crucial function in a world where there is an acute and immediate need. They may donate money to a food pantry, participate in a beach cleanup, or volunteer at an animal shelter.
Solutionaries often do humanitarian acts, but their focus is always on changing the systems that cause and/or contribute to the problems in the first place. Solutionaries focus on solving problems so that they cease to exist. A solutionary spends more of their time and effort trying to solve the problems of hunger, pollution, and animal cruelty, while still participating in humanitarian acts to alleviate suffering.
Watch Zoe Weil’s TEDx talk Solutionaries for a deeper understanding of the principles by which solutionaries live and how they go about choosing and addressing problems.
How Can I Become a Solutionary?
Use the Solutionary Framework
Our award-winning Solutionary Framework is a tool anyone can use to assess local and global problems and create ethical, actionable solutions.
The four phases of the framework guide you to:
I. Identify a problem you are passionate about
II. Investigate the problem and its causes
III. Brainstorm solutions that do the most good and least harm
IV. Take action and implement your solution
The four-phase, 12-step process is described in detail with examples in The Solutionary Way.
The Solutionary Way
For the most detailed path on how to become a solutionary, get Zoe Weil’s 2024 book, The Solutionary Way: Transform Your Life, Your Community, and the World for the Better.
As author of the Foreword Dr. Jane Goodall said:
“I am convinced that we must address the critical issues that this book highlights. There are dire problems facing us, but a better world is possible if we become solutionaries. As you read this book, keep this rallying cry in your heart: Together we can! Together we will! together we must!”
Ask Yourself These Three Questions
As you begin your solutionary practice, we invite you to consider the three questions Zoe Weil asks in her 11-minute TEDx, How to Be a Solutionary.
