Why do we still have this problem?

As a problem solver, you have a limit - a threshold, a tolerance - for how many times you're willing to solve the same problem.

When you tire of solving it, you'll eliminate the cause, or automate the solution.

This is why when you see a problem that's new to you you're tempted to assume no one else has tried to solve it.

If it was a common problem then someone would surely have prevented it by now. Right?

If you assume, instead, that someone *has* solved this type of problem before, then you free yourself up to think right away about how to eliminate it.

Which kind of ASS are UME?

I tell problem solvers, "Assume there's already a solution."  The first time I tell them this, they say, "You know what happens when you ass-ume haha!"

When you've decided that you need to solve a problem, you can dig in and start creating a solution.

Or you can look for other solutions to learn from.

Either way you're assuming.

Do you assume someone's already tried to solve a problem like this? Or do you assume you're the first?

1st Grade Algebra

My youngest daughter made a game to examine the number 29. She's in first grade. It's Sunday.

Her: Write a number sentence that makes 29
Me: 7 x 4 + 1 = 29
Her: Daddy, that's 12
Me: What does that "x" mean?
Her: Oh .. "times"?
Me: Good. What's 7 times 4?
Her: 28
Me: That's great! How did you know that?
Her: Because 29 minus 1 is 28

Listen closely: "I haven't been trained on that."

In every role I've had - from paid work to parenthood - I find a simple, reliable indicator of initiative and engagement.

When asked to perform an unfamiliar task, a person's response can show engagement and initiative :
"I have an opportunity to learn that"

Or it can show a lack of engagement and initiative :
"I haven't been trained on that"

People who are engaged and show initiative are ready to go. Show them where to find the instructions. Give them good examples of the work to be done.

When you hear "I haven't been trained on that", though, listen closely. There's a problem in the way that training won't fix.

Are you willing to be wrong?

Are you willing to try something, to risk failure? Are you willing to make a mistake?

Your world is changing. Your knowledge and understanding will expire.

And being wrong feels just like being right. Are you willing to be wrong?

Or will you seize every opportunity to test and repair - and improve - what you know?

Look at the tire

You're driving along the road. Your car's tire goes flat, so you pull over to the side of the road and stop.

If you want to know why the tire went flat, you get out of the car and ...

Walk back up the road looking for nails? Or broken glass?  Of course not. Not yet.

You look at the tire first.

What problem?

It's tempting to treat problems as individual transactions. Cut into bite-sized pieces, problems look like this :

• I did <something>.
• I expected <that> to happen.
• <This> happened instead.

I'm a solver. The <this>:<that> delta taunts me. It dares me to try to fix it.

The context matters, though. This missed expectation is part of an ongoing dialog. Who's this for? What's the impact of missing this expectation?

When the problem is that my toaster won't turn on, maybe it's OK to just start troubleshooting that. But how long do I spend on my toaster, before I come talk with you about the toast you ordered?

Do I have to solve this problem?

When you're doing one thing, you're not doing everything else.

Are you spending your time on the things most important to you?

Put yourself on the list of people you love, and who rely on you.  As you're deciding whether to solve a problem, answer:

Is this a problem we have now? Is it a problem we will have?
Can we just stop having this problem?
What if we ignore this problem for now?
Whose job is it to fix or prevent this problem?