You can’t open your laptop, watch TV, or have a conversation without hearing AI, AI, AI. My mum (84) was part of a WhatsApp group where ‘AI’ had been typed. When I saw her, she wanted to know why cousin Alan was taking over the world. Old people and tech – not a great combination. Please, for the sake of my mum, can we use ‘Ai’?
Alibaba chairman Jack Ma says humans will never be able to process data as quickly as machines – and we should not even try. Soft skills is where our future lies. And on that theme, LinkedIn’s 2024 report predicted the most in-demand skills would be communication, problem-solving and leadership.
It is the second one that I believe we talk least about. Probably because problem-solving tends to be something we do more when we are in more formal groups with facilitators. There are very few problem-solving techniques we use on a day-to-day basis, other than chatting to a colleague – and this has become harder with remote working, as you cannot spin around and go: “Hey, Dave, What do you think about…?”
Elon Musk once announced that we are paid according to the size and difficulty of problems we solve. So, we’re not just paid to stare at the laptop answering 112 emails per day? No, we’re not. We’re here to solve big and difficult problems because they’re the ones that make the biggest difference to the bottom line. So, how do we get better at solving this big, difficult stuff?
- Focus on a big problem in the important box of Eisenhower’s ‘urgent and important’ matrix. Don’t allow yourself to just be a firefighter.
- Eat That Frog every day, making some kind of dent in the big problem.
- ‘Will it Make the Boat go Faster?’ is a great book about winning in Olympic rowing. Apply this to problem-solving. Does your suggestion help to solve the problem?
- Go old school. Screens have their place, of course, but leave your phone and laptop, grab a piece of paper and a pen, and go and think.
- Learn to mind map.
- Gather some bright people and write the problem in a box on a flipchart. Then ask the bright sparks for their input. Edward de Bono’s six thinking hats is a great technique to help.
- Get a coach. There is a reason every Olympian has one.
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