Your Problem Solving is as Unique as Your Fingerprint
People approach solving problems differently, even if they’re using the same tools and methods. It’s one of the reasons for the name of my book, and one of the reasons I’m talking to people on the People Solve Problems podcast. Because problem solving is a collection of applied skills that interact with a person’s mindset and principles, and informed by their experiences, you could say someone’s approach to problem solving is as unique as their fingerprints.
This means that we should seek to better understand and refine our unique problem-solving approach. Why are we tackling problems in the way that we are? What’s good about it? What’s limiting about it?
For example, you might highly value creativity and your ability to find a new solution, but does that sometimes prevent you from choosing the unoriginal but obvious solution right in front of you? Or perhaps you had a string of really bad and judgemental bosses and you tend to overdocument and choose a safe path. Or perhaps you’re built for risk and choose big problems and favor bold solutions. The point is, we bring all of who we are to problem solving. That’s a great thing, and part of what makes us human, but if we don’t understand it, it can limit us as well.
This also means that we can learn a great deal from others. Some obvious examples include the people we solve problems with – bosses, peers, coaches, team members, and so on. But there are other lessons we can learn from people, or characters, that we’ve never met.
I once read a biography of Albert Einstein from which I learned the value of staying with a problem long enough to unlock it. That may seem like stubbornness, but it’s actually an effective technique (which research backs up) and I’ve included it in my course, From Stuck to Solved. In the book Team of Rivals about Abraham Lincoln, you can study how Lincoln understood the motivations, fears, and capabilities of people involved in either causing, or solving a problem –including the American public.
This can even apply to fictional characters, although it has obvious limits as we can’t resolve our problems with a stick and the word “leviosa!” But how does the detective Benoit Blanc manage to untangle complex mysteries in movies such as Knives Out and Glass Onion? It’s the power of direct observation, of asking yourself why what you’re observing is the way it is. It may be an extreme and even absurd level of observation, but it serves to provide a perfect example of how powerful direct observation can be.
So the next time you’re reading a book (especially a biography), don’t miss the opportunity to learn more about how people solve problems.