A simple, repeatable system for doing great work on your team is to: Take a problem on your team. Work on it. Make it go away for your team. Ask for another problem. Then repeat steps 1-4. I think this is a great system. It’s super simple, but simple doesn’t mean easy. It’s made more difficult because there’s a thing missing… How do you do those steps within the context of the problems and projects you work on? ...
Frequently, a logical step-by-step approach generates the solution to your problem. Sometimes, you can make progress by thinking outside the box. If all else fails, you can try the brute force approach for really tricky problems. The idea is to list out all dimensions of your problem. A dimension is some aspect about the problem. For example, one aspect of a plumbing problem is the tool you’ll be using. For each dimension, list out the discrete values it can take. In the case of the tool dimension in the plumbing problem, you could use a number of tools to loosen the bolt. ...
Approaching a problem head-on frequently solves the problem. Sometimes… Approaching it from a different, seemingly unrelated angle may yield better results… especially if you’re stuck. Suppose you’re stuck on a difficult problem… Pick any object near by, and come up with a way to use that object to solve or help you solve your problem. Keep coming up with more ways to use that object. When you run out of ideas, try another object and repeat. ...
If you can actually prove that your problem is unsolvable, you’re pretty much stuck. For example, you could show how your problem is a variation of an existing unsolved problem. More frequently though… On your path to showing how your problem cannot be solved, you’ll get stuck. Something about your problem isn’t actually unsolvable, or something about your problem doesn’t match any of the unsolved problems. It’s this sticky point where you have a new problem to solve. ...
If you can track down the root cause of your problem and remove it, your problem goes away. The hard part is tracking down the root cause. One general method is to start with a symptom of your problem. Ask yourself, “What could be causing this symptom?” When you have a potential cause, ask yourself, “What other symptoms should be present, and do you see these other symptoms?” If the answer is yes, then we’re getting somewhere. Continue asking yourself about potential causes for the cause you just identified. ...
More often than not, the eventual solution to your problem isn’t the first solution you thought of. Try out experimental solutions to learn more about the problem. Most importantly, keep track of how the problem changes when do your experiments. You could see what happens when you: Try a solution to a simpler problem. Try an incorrect solution. Try a solution that works for a specific concrete example of the problem. Try a solution that works for an extreme example of the problem. Try a solution that only partially solves your problem. Each experiment helps you to learn more about the original problem and is essentially a variation of breaking down the problem. ...
If you can find a real-life situation where the problem doesn’t exist, try to find out what’s different about that situation. What characteristics about that situation differ from your situation? Yes, those differences represent new problems for you to solve. However, you’re in a way better position than before. If you can bridge the gap between your situation and that real-life situation where the problem doesn’t exist, your problem is solved. ...
Delegating the problem to someone else is certainly a way make a problem go away. This strategy is about enlisting others to brainstorm solutions. Reach out to your network for experts about the problem. Find out how they would approach the problem. You could do this one expert at a time, or you could pull together a brainstorming session to get a diverse set of approaches and sometimes solutions. See also My problem-solving checklist
If you can find others who have solved your problem, there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel. Search the web for the solution. Search for others who share this problem. Look for others who share a similar problem, so that you can adapt their solution. See also My problem-solving checklist
Look through your email, your journal, your notes, your blog, your files… whatever you have that could remind you of how you solved a problem previously. If you’ve solved the problem before, why not use the same solution? If it worked before, it’ll work again. The key to this is keeping detailed digital notes of the problem, relevant references and the solution(s). Keeping detailed digital notes is overhead, but doing so helps you solve problems in the future. ...