The year was 333 BC, maybe.
Alexander the Great marched his (western) world conquering army into the Phrygian City of Gordium. There he found an ancient wagon tied to a yoke with multiple knots tied so tightly that it was impossible to see how it was fastened. An oracle had said that any man who could unravel the knots would rule Asia. Alexander either removed the pole, or, cut into the knot until he could see enough to unravel it, or, he just slashed it in half with his sword, depending on who you ask. It also probably never happened.
There is a scene in the first Captain America movie, The First Avenger. Steve Rogers hasn’t been changed into Captain America yet, and he is a very scrawny recruit, barely able to do a push up. In the middle of a long training run he and his fellow recruits are shown a flagpole and told that the first one to get the flag from the top will get a ride back to camp. After all of the fit and arrogant trainees try and fail, Steve merely walks to the pole and pulls the locking pin from its base, which causes the pole to fall down. He then collects the flag and climbs in the jeep.
And thus did Captain America cut the Gordian Knot.
Problem solving is a very general term. Getting six donuts to fit in your mouth is problem solving, making the budget work is also problem solving. For our purposes though, problem solving is about finding solutions to difficult problems and seeing opportunities in setbacks. How did we come up with that definition? I’m writing this, so I did. That is how I solved that problem.
In the first two examples above the hero solves a problem by looking at it a different way. With the Gordian Knot, everyone had assumed that there was some kind of rule that you had to untie the knot by finding the ends and loosening it. But the oracle hadn’t given any rules. And as for Captain America, everyone looked at the pole and thought the challenge was to climb the pole. It wasn’t. The challenge was to get the flag.
In my brief and not-at-all exhaustive research into problem solving one thing was near universal: You have to see the problem from a different perspective. Step back, fly from 10,000 feet, walk around the other side, or stand on your head, but whatever you do, the point is to forget your assumptions and see it in a different way.
I’m not the first to notice that genius and madness are often sitting right next to each other. Say what you will about madness, it is a different point of view.
The Six Sigma techniques for problem solving have a lot of different acronyms and processes, but they list four key skills that a professional should develop to be a good problem solver:
- Analytical thinking: The ability to break down complex issues into manageable components and identify root causes.
- Creativity: Generating innovative solutions and thinking outside the box.
- Communication: Clearly articulating problems and solutions to stakeholders at all levels.
- Adaptability: Remaining flexible and open to new approaches as situations evolve.
By my count, two of them are about chopping knots.
Problem solving is a lot of things. It’s something we do all the time, for little problems and big problems, but if you really get stuck, you may want to remember Steve Rogers and take a moment to forget your assumptions and stand on your head. Or take a walk. You may not have to climb the pole at all.
–Written by: Jeffrey Dewhurst