Quotes About Problem-solving

Being able to "go beyond the information" given to "figure things out" is one of the few untarnishable joys of life.

The act of deeply thinking through problems, energizing people, and aligning them toward a common goal is the only way to practice and develop real leadership ability.

Ownership means once I detect a problem I own it. I am responsible for it.

When there is a problem, do not just keep going with the intention of fixing it later. Stop and fix the problem now.

very wary of judging people just on the basis of how smart they sound, and particularly on their ability to find problems or fault with ideas. These are dangerous people. They are smart enough to stop things from happening, but not action oriented enough to find ways of overcoming the problems they have identified.

This step is as simple as focusing on the problem at hand, writing down your goals, and then listing action steps and resources needed to accomplish each. (Author's note: I often need a helper to sort this part out. Impartial, strategic thinkers can sometimes see a clear path through what only feels muddy to us. A helping helper to help us think through who can help us and how.

The scientists chalked up the flocks' greater successes to the odds that they included birds with varying abilities, experiences, and temperaments: "Large groups succeed because they're more likely to contain a diverse range of individuals," the team writes, "some of whom will be very good at problem-solving.

If she can't stand the heat, she needs to stay out of the kitchen," Mr. Rush insisted. "Or you could air-condition the kitchen," I said. "Or at least install a fan to ventilate some of the fumes.

The key lever in a complex system is learning; the key methods are conversation, discovery, and experimentation.14 In a complicated case, you have distinct times for diagnosing the problem, coming up with the solution, and then implementing that solution.

Emilia hooked her arm through mine, like we were the best of friends. "You solve problems," she said again. "I have a problem. Ergo . . .

I've found duct tape more effective than advice, myself.

When I saw a problem, I solved it. I wouldn't stay powerless for long.

Foaly almost grinned. Whatever I need to do.

My central premise is that although the reductionist approaches of scientists and artists are not identical in their aims—scientists use reductionism to solve a complex problem and artists use it to elicit a new perceptual and emotional response in the beholder—they are analogous.

created specifically to separate the problem-solving tasks requiring access to a manufacturer's sticky solution information from those requiring access to users' sticky need information. The same basic principle can be illustrated in a less technical context: food design. In this field, manufacturer-based designers have traditionally undertaken the entire job of developing a novel food, and so they have freely blended need-specific design into any or all of the

One discovers answers to problems only when one feels that they are burning and that it is a a matter of life and death to solve them. Is nothing is of burning interest, one's reason and one's critical faculty operate on a low level of activity; it appears then that one lacks the faculty to observe.

His (Claude Legrand's) method is founded in a simple directive: Don't conclude that the problem as it's first presented, or as you first perceive it, is indeed the actual problem. If you do, and you've got it wrong, the solution you produce may also be wrong. The first step to figuring out what your problem is, Legrand says, is to deconstruct it by questioning it.

N'est-ce pas la vertu première du nationalisme que de trouver un coupable plutôt qu'une solution ?

Fear inhibits learning. Research in neuroscience shows that fear consumes physiologic resources, diverting them from parts of the brain that manage working memory and process new information. This impairs analytic thinking, creative insight, and problem solving.15 This is why it's hard for people to do their best work when they are afraid.

The main thing that sets experts apart from the rest of us is that their years of practice have changed the neural circuitry in their brains to produce highly specialized mental representations, which in turn make possible the incredible memory, pattern recognition, problem solving, and other sorts of advanced abilities needed to excel in their particular specialties.

Don't leave "broken windows" (bad designs, wrong decisions, or poor code) unrepaired. Fix each one as soon as it is discovered. If there is insufficient time to fix it properly, then board it up. Perhaps you can comment out the offending code, or display a "Not Implemented" message, or substitute dummy data instead. Take some action to prevent further damage and to show that you're on top of the situation.

By coding at a higher level of abstraction, you are free to concentrate on solving domain problems, and can ignore petty implementation details.

On a personal level, I send out about 20 thank-you notes a day to staffers, on all levels. And every six weeks I have lunch with a group of a dozen or so employees, to get their perspective on the business, to address problems and to get feedback.

Welcome those big, sticky, complicated problems. In them are your most powerful opportunities.