The Hard Things About Hard Problems: Cambium Carbon’s Framework for Maintaining Focus

Tackling climate change requires more than just good intentions. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Ben Christensen shared how Cambium Carbon maintains focus and momentum while solving complex sustainability challenges.

A Different Approach to Hard Problems

“You don’t solve impossible problems without believing in them,” Ben explains. “And I think as soon as you stop thinking about, okay, what would need to be true in order for us to solve a problem, you stop solving it.”

This mindset shapes how Cambium Carbon approaches challenges that might seem insurmountable, like transforming 46 million tons of annual urban wood waste into a $50 billion opportunity.

The Power of Saying No to Good Things

One of their core principles is ruthless prioritization. “We have a tendency as founders… to want to build everything, and there’s great strength in that,” Ben notes. “I think there’s greater strength in building in a stepwise manner where you’re able to take something that will get you to the next level and see it all the way through.”

This led to their team mantra: “Don’t do good things, because we should only be doing great things.”

Building Resilience Into the System

Ben has observed a common pattern where founders “raise a lot of money, get caught a bit in the hype train, and just get soft and soften their emotional resilience, soften their ability to give to other people, soften their focus, soften their drive, soften their commitment.”

His solution? Ultra running. It’s not just about personal challenge – it’s about building systematic resilience: “A lot of it is about creating execution and focus and discipline in the six months leading up to race day… You have to use your time more effectively within your company because you have to get your training in.”

Learning from Survival Psychology

Ben draws insights from unexpected sources. Speaking about the book “Deep Survival,” he explains how it changed his “approach to life, and then also to startups… about the neuroscience of why certain people survive and why others don’t.” The key lesson? Understanding “how do you correctly build mental maps, and how do you have a fluid mental map that actually adapts to situations that you are dealing with.”

Using Humor as a Tool

One surprising tactic from survival psychology that Ben applies to startup challenges: “He talks about the power of humor in high conflict scenarios and in high stress scenarios, and how there’s actual data and science on how that changes your approach to those problems and improves your ability to engage with them.”

Maintaining Long-Term Vision

While staying focused on immediate execution, Cambium Carbon keeps sight of their larger mission. “Our vision is to make it easy for any large company that uses materials to be able to source them in a way that is carbon smart,” Ben shares. This bigger vision helps the team evaluate opportunities and stay aligned on priorities.

For B2B founders tackling complex problems, Cambium Carbon’s framework offers several key lessons:

1. Build systematic resilience through personal discipline
2. Use mental models from other high-stress domains
3. Say no to good opportunities to focus on great ones
4. Keep sight of the larger mission while executing step by step

The key insight? Success in solving hard problems isn’t just about the solution – it’s about building systems that help you maintain focus and resilience throughout the journey.

As Ben puts it, “A big part of it is there’s race day, which is a lot about learning about what you’re capable of when things are really hard. But a lot of it is about creating execution and focus and discipline in the six months leading up to race day.”