Co-written with Summer/Fall 2024 intern Tyler Raterink
A common phrase in carpentry is, “Measure twice, cut once.” Thankfully, it isn’t, “Eyeball it, then cut.” If every carpenter guesstimated their cuts, we would be surrounded by wasted lumber and poorly built homes. The real idiom is widely applicable to tasks across industries and roles.
If this expression is new to you, here’s the gist of it: If you have a problem, look closely before you take action. This saves a lot of time and resources in the long run.
In today’s fast-paced work environment, we’ve become obsessed with finding solutions as quickly as possible. In our urgency, we may miss details that would’ve led us to the right solutions for our challenges. Albert Einstein once said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about the solution.” In our rush to deliver results, we have almost completely reversed this, often gaining only a superficial understanding of the situation before iterating possibilities.
Brainstorming multiple solutions isn’t a bad approach, but in order to create effective, long-term fixes, we need to take a step back. To be most effective, we must lean into curiosity with an open mind to fully understand the issue before making solid conclusions.
Delivery vs. Discovery
To understand why we tend to jump into action before looking at the full scope of the issue, it’s important to know the behaviors that impact problem solving. As Cort Corwin discussed in his TEDxMac talk, “Solutions Won’t Solve Our Creative Crisis, Problems Will,” people tend to fall into one of two behavior categories in work: Discovery or Delivery.
Discovery people are often divergent thinkers who ask questions, generating innovative ideas that push boundaries and break new ground. As their counterbalance, Delivery people are the executors who take those ideas, refine them and make them a reality.
If Discovery people are the “dreamers,” Deliver people are the “doers.” While both are necessary to problem-solving, the order of their involvement matters.
It’s easy to want to head into the process with pure focus on finding the best solution in record time (that’s the “Delivery” mindset). And, to be fair, it’s important to keep the end goal in mind. But Discovery is necessary to long-term success. Beyond generating new ideas, that “Discovery” mindset involves gathering information—asking questions, conducting comprehensive research, and exploring avenues and possibilities that may initially go unnoticed.
Solving Problems Like Einstein
It’s likely that our first impressions don’t fully encapsulate the situation. Like Einstein, we should allocate time (a lot more than we think) to diagnose the issue. While the following recommendations aren’t the exact problem-solving method Einstein used, they’re inspired by his creative, probing approach to gaining a full understanding of each challenge before working toward resolution.
1) Ask Questions
The most simple but often overlooked step in discovery is asking questions. No one is all-knowing, and new topics don’t always make sense right away. More often than not, we need to fill the gaps in our understanding. Instead of attempting to preserve “credibility” by pretending to understand, just ask the question. The team member sitting next to you might have been wondering the same thing, or it might inspire follow-up questions.
Please note that the “question phase” is an ongoing process. Welcoming questions should be a part of every period of problem solving. However, it’s most important in the early stages.
2) Define the Problem
Another wise Einstein quote comes to mind: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” Being able to verbalize the situation in clear, concise language is a great way to test if you truly understand it. If you can’t, it’s time to step back and ask more questions. There’s no sense in trying to solve an issue you can’t describe because it likely means you’re missing a piece of information that would lead to a full understanding of it.
It’s easy to get stuck in a closed mindset when we’ve been too close to an issue for an extended period of time. Sometimes, a fresh set of eyes is all we need to get the gears turning. Ask someone who isn’t as close to the situation if you can describe it to them. They might ask different probing questions or offer new perspectives you hadn’t considered.
3) Brainstorm Solution Possibilities
When you make it past the initial “question phase” of discovery, you might think you have the perfect solution in mind, but remember that rushing isn’t your friend. Take time to explore and listen to what team members are thinking, and refrain from shooting down their ideas. A collective brainstorming session allows the team to combine the best aspects of ideas to determine the appropriate route forward.
4) Identify the Solution
At this point, you understand each facet of the challenge and everyone has shared opinions on the best course of action. Now is the time to come to an agreement on which path to pursue. Choosing one to implement may not be clear-cut, but by this stage, you should have much more clarity on which path to take.
5) Execute
Time to allocate responsibilities and divvy up the work. It’s important to consistently monitor each step of the process and see the solution through to completion. (Here’s where those “Delivery” people really shine!)
6) Analyze & Iterate
Reflection is key to future success. Taking time to assess what went right and areas for improvement sets your team up for a more effective approach to issues down the road.
Practice Informed Action
When faced with a problem, it’s practically instinct to limit ourselves to our first gut reaction. But more often than not, that initial response is far from helpful. Adapting to a mindset characterized by insatiable curiosity and inherent creativity allows us to slow down, examine the challenge fully and mindfully develop an impactful solution.
Most problems are deeply layered, multifaceted and difficult to answer—especially in one sitting. Remember, there’s power in intentionally leaving room to ask questions and listen to ideas. And when a hard question arises, there’s nothing wrong with saying, “I don’t know the answer right now, but I bet I can find out.” Informing decisions based on deep knowledge is the most effective path to achieving the best outcomes.
If you need help solving your business problem, reach out. We’d be happy to chat.
