Answering the Question Prematurely

I was at a client site the other day and they were talking about some exciting new initiatives that were getting ready to kick off.  While there was a good bit of excitement around it, there was also frustration with some of the thinking around how to attack these new opportunities.  It seems that there were those who wanted to overload the new stuff with some of the same burdens of the way things had always been done.

There are lots of ways to solve problems.  Many times our experiences shape how we think about the problem, and we draw conclusions because we think we know how the story needs to end.  In my mind, it goes something like this:  I hear someone say “The problem is that I can’t do x”, and I have solved x twenty times in the past five years, so I already go straight to the conclusion.  ”You need y to solve x.  It works every time.”

It’s a tough thing to learn to take a fresh look at the problem each time.  There is generally enough nuance in each situation to make it unique, so the challenge is to have the patience to let the brain do what it does best.

Our brains are great at churning away at things, and using inputs that are not top of mind to come to the right conclusion.  The issue, at least for me, is opening my mouth before my brain is done.

Question:  What are some ways that you use to interrupt the rush to conclusion?  I would love to hear about them.