Débrouillard is the art of transforming limited resources and rising urgency into a positive outcome.  It’s instantly recognizable to anyone who has seen it in action.  While quantifying it spans multiple dimensions, the core insight is simple: resourcefulness emerges as constraints tighten. 

In its simplest form:

Débrouillard = (Challenge × Urgency) / Resources

Système D magazine

"Le Débrouillard a réponse à tout"
(The Débrouillard has an answer to everything).

This powerful declaration greeted readers upon opening the first issue of Système D: Journal Hebdomadaire Illustré du débrouillard (Illustrated Weekly Journal of the Débrouillard), introduced on French newsstands in June 1924. The publication quickly became the handbook for practical problem solvers across France as a weekly masterclass in ingenuity.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, there exists a cultural philosophy so deeply embedded in daily life that it's humorously referred to as an unwritten part of the constitution: "Article 15: débrouillez-vous!"  This unofficial mandate translating to "figure it out yourself" or "fend for yourself" emerged during the tumultuous post colonial period and became especially meaningful during the economic hardships of the Mobutu era in the 1970s and 1980s.