Hello friend,

Every Thursday, I send a 4-minute breakdown of a framework—a tactical guide for changemakers, essentially. Think of it as a permission slip to step back from the chaos and think strategically for a moment.

You already know the myriad challenges we face—rising authoritarianism, democratic backsliding, and disinformation networks operating at scale. You also know these aren’t just tough problems. They’re wicked problems—complex, interconnected, and ever-evolving.

It’s easy to feel hopeless. It’s allowed, even.

But if you’re reading this, I know two things about you:

1. You’re not doing nothing. In fact, you’re likely doing more than ever—despite shrinking budgets, burned-out teams, and an increasingly hostile landscape.

2. You want to do more. You’re asking: How do I make the best possible intervention with the talent & resources I have?

If that’s where you’re at, you’re in the right place.

Because with a sharper understanding of the systems you’re up against, you can make smarter, more effective interventions—even in a world where traditional solutions aren’t enough.

Today’s newsletter is about how to understand and resist a wicked problem.

Let’s get into it.

🌪 WICKED PROBLEMS🌪

What they are

A wicked problem is a complex issue with no clear solution—one where every attempted fix reveals new challenges. These problems are unstable, interconnected, and full of contradictions. Think climate collapse, disinformation, democratic erosion, saving journalism, or trying to get a group of friends to agree on where to eat.

OK, maybe not the last one.

The Wicked Problem Construct (WPC) isn’t just a way to define these challenges. It’s a framework for managing them strategically—so we can act with more clarity and impact.

When to use it

Choose your own (mis)adventure:

• You’re an investigative journalism outlet who just lost a major grant, forcing layoffs and limiting your ability to cover critical issues. You can’t afford to do business as usual—but stopping isn’t an option. The WPC helps you reassess your strategy, identify high-leverage investigations, and find new ways to collaborate, crowdfund, or decentralise your reporting to stay in the fight.

• You’re an human rights advocacy group that spent years securing legal protections for marginalized communities—only to see the law repealed overnight. The old playbook won’t work anymore. Using the WPC, you shift from a legal-first strategy to a community mobilisation approach, building public pressure and leveraging international networks to challenge the rollback from multiple angles.

• You’re a grassroots election team working to boost community participation—but every day, a flood of AI-generated misinformation is confusing and discouraging voters. Rather than playing whack-a-mole with falsehoods, you use the WPC to map the disinformation ecosystem, identify trusted local messengers, and create an adaptive response strategy that outpaces the chaos.

None of the above? No matter. If your work feels like you are constantly navigating contradictions instead of solving problems, this way of thinking is still for you.

Why use it

• It’s designed for real-world complexity. Many problem-solving frameworks assume rational actors, clear data, and linear progress. The WPC assumes chaos, power struggles, and uncertainty—and helps you act anyway.

• It stops you from wasting energy on “perfect” solutions. Wicked problems don’t have neat, permanent fixes. This approach focuses on adapting in real time instead.

• It makes your strategy more resilient. Instead of rigid plans that fall apart when things change, this framework keeps you agile, adaptable, and proactive.

• It helps you navigate conflict. Wicked problems often involve competing priorities. The WPC helps identify tensions before they become roadblocks.

And, without wanting to be mercenary about things, funders want to see that you understand the complexity of the problem you are addressing better than the other people looking for grants. Don’t bring a knife to a drone war. (Or maybe do, but only if you can show why it's the best tool to cut the power cables).

How it works

A wicked problem can’t be solved in a linear way—it must be managed, disrupted, and outpaced. It works by constantly shifting, exploiting instability, and overwhelming opposition with chaos. 

To counter it, you need to map the system to identify leverage points, adapt quickly as conditions change, and disrupt power structures rather than attacking everything at once. The key is to control the narrative, forcing the opposition into a reactive position, and to build decentralised networks that are resilient to attacks. Instead of trying to “fix” the problem, you create friction, slow it down, and make it unworkable—buying time for better strategies to emerge.

Take it to the next level

To see how to apply this thinking practically, let’s name a problem, one you are likely familiar with: Trump’s Butterfly Revolution.

Trump's plan is following a step-by-step playbook to dismantle democracy and replace it with a CEO-state—where power is centralised, opposition is silenced, and every system serves the leader. This isn’t just rhetoric. It’s a strategic, methodical approach to authoritarian control.

The Butterfly Revolution thrives on chaos, manipulation, and brute force. The resistance needs to understand its mechanics and disrupt it at every turn.

We can do that by understanding six kinds of uncertainty. Each reveals how Trump 2.0 systems operate and interact, allowing us to better understand (and resist) the type of problem we are tackling.

✨ Uncertainty 1: Volatility (static to chaotic)

How much does the system change over time?

Trumpism feeds on chaos. It deliberately destabilizes institutions—firing bureaucrats en masse, rejecting court rulings, and flooding the news cycle with scandals. The goal? Flood the zone. Overwhelm opposition and make democratic norms feel obsolete.

The counter-strategy:

• Stay adaptive. Traditional political responses (lawsuits, slow-moving advocacy) won’t keep pace. Build rapid-response networks that can react immediately to legal shifts, mass firings, and power grabs.

• Control the tempo. Don’t just respond to Trump’s chaos—create your own moments that force them to react. Strategic leaks, surprise protests, and well-timed legal challenges can disrupt their momentum.

• Prepare counter-narratives in advance. When they drop a bombshell (like refusing to comply with the courts), don’t scramble—have messaging ready that frames it as proof of their weakness, not strength.

✨ Uncertainty 2: Intricacy (simple to complicated)

How many interdependent parts are involved?

The Butterfly Revolution isn’t just Trump—it’s a web of PACs, media networks, dark money, and grassroots extremist movements. Disrupting one piece isn’t enough—you need to see the whole picture.

The counter-strategy:

• Map the ecosystem. Who funds them? Who spreads their messaging? What legal loopholes allow them to consolidate power? Follow the money, the media, and the law.

• Attack weak points. A massive movement can still have fragile connections. Pressure donors, expose compliant politicians, and target internal fractures.

• Create friction. If they want an efficient takeover, make it as complicated as possible. Lawsuits, FOIA requests, procedural delays—every bureaucratic hurdle slows them down.

✨ Uncertainty 3: Modularity (tightly integrated to loosely coupled)

How easily can the system’s parts be changed?

Trump’s takeover is both centralised and modular. That makes it tricky. He wants a federalised police force, a fully loyal bureaucracy, and total control over courts—but his movement also relies on decentralised extremist groups and unpredictable media allies.

The counter-strategy:

• Exploit their rigidity. If they centralise law enforcement, focus on local resistance—cities and states can refuse cooperation.

• Co-opt their modularity. If they rely on a loose coalition of influencers, media, and billionaire backers, pit them against each other. Highlight contradictions, fuel infighting, and isolate their most extreme factions.

• Build your own flexible networks. Authoritarians love centralized control—movements that are nimble and decentralized are harder to crush.

✨ Uncertainty 4: Scalability (sublinear to superlinear growth)

How does the system respond to scale?

Trump’s movement scales like an insurgency. His ideas spread exponentially through social media and right-wing ecosystems. A single message on X can mobilise millions overnight—whereas democratic institutions can only scale and react slowly and bureaucratically.

The counter-strategy:

• Leverage superlinear tactics. Trump’s machine thrives on viral rage—counter it with viral defiance. Expose contradictions, use humor to discredit them, and spread decentralised resistance strategies.

• Don’t fight them on their timeline. Trump wants his base constantly mobilised while his opponents burn out. Pace yourself.

• Create flashpoints of engagement. Instead of broad, ongoing campaigns, design targeted, high-impact moments that force the media cycle to focus on your message. Remember: you can’t post your way out of fascism.

✨ Uncertainty 5: Ambiguity (from lucid to fuzzy)

How clearly defined are the system’s boundaries?

Trumpism deliberately blurs reality. Laws become suggestions. Rules apply selectively. Even their own supporters aren’t sure which promises are real and which are propaganda.

The counter-strategy:

• Define clear battle lines. Make sure the public understands: This isn’t normal. This isn’t legal. This isn’t democracy.

• Expose their contradictions. Trumpism thrives on shapeshifting rhetoric—one day they’re anti-elite, the next they’re demanding absolute loyalty to the most elite figure of all. Force them to pick a lane.

• Own the language war. Words shape reality. If they call it “election security,” call it “voter suppression.” If they call it “deregulation,” call it “corporate control.”

✨ Uncertainty 6: Reflexivity (from isolated to immersed)

How much does the system change based on how it’s perceived?

The Butterfly Revolution isn’t just about power—it’s about perception. If Trump’s movement is seen as inevitable, strong, and disciplined, it becomes that. If it’s seen as incompetent, infighting, and ridiculous, it weakens.

The counter-strategy:

• Control the frame. Every authoritarian movement wants to look unstoppable. Show their failures, their incompetence, their fear.

• Disrupt their aesthetic. Strongmen project power—humiliate them, mock them, expose their insecurities.

• Flood the zone with reality. When they spread disinformation, don’t just debunk—replace. Shift the focus to real stories of their corruption and harm.

🔥 GET STARTED 🔥

Use the framework above to look at any problem that defies definition. Pick one or two points to focus on. Work with others to ideate solutions.

And, look, I get that this might all seem very theoretical. And you’re already overwhelmed.

So here are some super practical, everyday tips you can use to build collaborations and start acting immediately.

• Reach out to an ally. Plan a call with someone new in an aligned organisation. Ask them how they’re tackling the problems you collectively face.

• Crowdsource solutions. Ask kids, old folks, or people outside your sector how they would approach your biggest challenge. Unexpected insights often come from fresh eyes.

• Double your problem-solving time. Instead of rushing to a decision, allocate twice the time to brainstorming. Don’t stop until you have at least three solutions.

• Shorten your priority list. Instead of tracking every risk, trying to understand every uncertainty, pick the top two for the month and archive the rest. Focus is a superpower.

• Take a different route. Change up your commute. Walk a different way, take a new form of transport—even if it takes longer. New environments spark new insights.

(Sidebar: There are a bunch of great links doing that rounds that show what’s actually being done to resist Trump 2.0 and how you can join. Sherillyn Ifill's article is a great example).

🪁 PARALLEL PLAY 🪁

This edition has been heavier than usual. Some light relief:

• There's a lot of puzzeln happening in my house at the moment (German for doing a jigsaw puzzle - it's a verb!). We love The Magic Puzzle Company.

• Beautiful, beautiful bird photos (discovered through David Bauer’s ever-great Weekly Filet)

• If you just want to smile, here’s an old video that I found last week of RZA unironically making a terrible beat in a Guitar Center ad.

🌊 WAVE GOODBYE 🌊

Thanks for being here. Sorry that today’s edition was a bit long, but it felt important to get into the detail. If you’ve appetite for more:

• Check out my latest YouTube video: Stop chasing growth. This matters more.

• Download one of my free tools for fundraisers.

• Head to the archive for more framework breakdowns.

A final thought. Every rigid system has its breaking points. Every fast-moving system can be tripped up. Every propaganda machine can be jammed. They want us to feel like this is inevitable.

That's part of the strategy.

It’s not inevitable.

The more friction we create, the more time we buy. And time is what movements need to grow, connect, and push back. So: what’s the smallest, smartest action we can take today?

Keep going.

Adam

p.s. If you find this newsletter valuable in any way, please share it with a friend, an organiser, an activist, a journalist, a nonprofit leader, a fundraiser, or anyone who cares and would like to do more. If you are one of those awesome people and you like what you see, please do subscribe for more.