A mentor of mine in my early working years taught me a whole lot of very valuable lessons that have served me well, and that I’ve tried to carry forward as we bring new folks on to the team. This is one of those lessons.

Nearly everyone has had the experience of being confronted with a problem in either our personal or professional lives where we’ve needed to devise a solution. Your first instinct is often close to the truth, particularly when the problem is in an arena that you are familiar with. The key lies in the first steps you take to refine the solution: will you solve the problem or lead yourself down the solution spiral?

When we propose a solution to a problem, particularly in a group setting, humans have the tendency to get attached to that solution. As people try to help refine the proposed solution and question it we have a tendency to get defensive and force changes to your idea to plug the holes that other people are trying to poke in your idea.

Image credit xkcd

The key is being able to step back and look over the situation. Find the simple solution. Look at what you want to solve, and see if there’s a way to solve the problem quickly and easily. If you need to get from Vancouver to Los Angeles there’s many routes you can take. The best choice isn’t likely to travel by way of Boston.

The lesson: Find the solution that most closely resembles the solution you’re trying to solve.

Thanks to the FOG for this invaluable lesson.