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The 7 Traits of History’s Greatest Problem Solvers
#5 — They use imagination to expand their constraints.
Stan, a former colleague, used to boast about his problem-solving superpowers. He made quick decisions and lived or died by the results. His approach worked until it got him fired.
We worked for a conservative insurance company, and Stan had just pitched a new product idea. With preliminary approval, we gathered requirements and discovered our clients weren’t interested. But they gave us a wish-list of features that would make it worthwhile.
Here was the problem.
We lacked time to vet these new requirements, and delaying our presentation would mean missing out on funding until the next quarter. Stan made a snap decision to estimate the cost based on what we knew. Problem solved.
All seemed fine until costs spiraled out of control. Management shelved the project and lost confidence in Stan, who eventually lost his job.
Unlike Stan, history’s most exceptional problem solvers never took shortcuts or rushed to a solution. They accepted failure as part of the process.
Those are the basics, but these seven traits set the great ones apart.
