“Many people accept the world the way it is, and don’t see the incredible potential that is locked behind hard problems.” — Nat Greene Potential Copy Share Image
“Perhaps the most useful approach for defining the problem well is structuring it as a measurable variable.” — Nat Greene Copy Share Image
“Great problem-solvers avoid being trapped into solving the wrong problem by defining the problem without prejudice or assumption” — Nat Greene Problem solvers Copy Share Image
“Defining the acceptable and unacceptable ranges for this variable means that the problem definition is objective and immune to opinion.” — Nat Greene Means Problem Copy Share Image
“Even when diving into a problem, there’s a fear of looking ignorant or “stupid” by asking questions one is “supposed to know.” — Nat Greene Asking questions Copy Share Image
“Being willing to expose your ignorance can be hard, until you learn the costs of not doing so.” — Nat Greene Expose Copy Share Image
“When you move down your tree, keep in mind there may be multiple variables contributing to the failure.” — Nat Greene Failure Copy Share Image
“They realized they were on the frontier of understanding, and the assumptions they formed from past experience were detrimental.” — Nat Greene Learning Copy Share Image
“The last major risk to getting good facts is our own prejudices. While we may not always test a solution based on… — Nat Greene Bias Copy Share Image
“A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved.1 —CHARLES KETTERING, AMERICAN ENGINEER, HOLDER OF 186 PATENTS, INVENTOR OF THE ELECTRICAL STARTING MOTOR, LEADED… — Nat Greene Inventor Copy Share Image
“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance. —HIPPOCRATES, ANCIENT GREEK FOUNDER OF THE… — Nat Greene Ancient greek Copy Share Image
“One of the most dangerous—and most pervasive—mistakes when creating a problem definition is letting some assumption about the key drivers sneak in… — Nat Greene Mistakes Copy Share Image
“Great problem-solvers know that they must become masters of the unique problem and the process it affects, and that when they walk… — Nat Greene Education Copy Share Image
“The “curse of knowledge” is a cognitive bias that leads people highly informed about a topic to be unable to think about… — Nat Greene Bias Copy Share Image
“For problems of any significant difficulty, you need to start with your hands in your pockets, and your senses open. You need… — Nat Greene Adversity Copy Share Image
“By eliminating the variables closest to the primary variable, we immediately eliminate many potential root causes, and we can avoid collecting data… — Nat Greene Copy Share Image
“Utilizing an expert means asking them questions that will help you understand a science, process, or asset; it means getting their help… — Nat Greene Expert Copy Share Image
“When a system isn’t working right, someone has to understand how it’s meant to work, at the right depth, in order to… — Nat Greene Dig deep Copy Share Image
“Great problem-solvers aren’t afraid of their ignorance, and they’re not afraid of others seeing it. Great questions shatter assumptions, provoke new insight,… — Nat Greene Ignorance Copy Share Image
“As some of my Canadian friends have told me: “There is no such thing as bad weather; just the wrong clothes.” This… — Nat Greene Bad weather Copy Share Image
“People mythologize hard problems in this way because it is comforting. If a problem becomes a supernatural titan, we can tell ourselves… — Nat Greene Root cause Copy Share Image
“most methods disguise the guessing stage in some fancy language, such as “determine possible root causes.” This is making a list of… — Nat Greene Guessing Copy Share Image
“So often, I see people bury themselves in mounds of data coming off their computers, hoping that some stream or other will… — Nat Greene Analysis Copy Share Image
“Embrace your ignorance. Most people try to solve problems using the knowledge they already have about a process, but it’s what you… — Nat Greene Ask questions Copy Share Image
“If you believe that success is inevitable, you’re less likely to work your tail off in order to achieve it. Hard problems… — Nat Greene Faith Copy Share Image
“Don’t confuse believing in a simple solution with hoping that a simple guess will work.” — Nat Greene Copy Share Image
“You must unlearn what you have learned.1 —YODA, IN STAR WARS: EPISODE V—THE EMPIRE STRIKES” — Nat Greene Star wars Copy Share Image
“Keep in mind that the method you choose to guide you is of little use without strong problem-solving behaviors.” — Nat Greene Behaviors Copy Share Image
“whenever you read a method step such as “determine possible root causes,” this is a red flag for your problem-solving method.” — Nat Greene Problem solving Copy Share Image
“We need to understand what variables most directly control our primary variable by understanding the science behind how the system works.” — Nat Greene Science Copy Share Image
“To solve truly hard problems, you’ll need to use a method that doesn’t involve guessing in any step.” — Nat Greene Method Copy Share Image
“Don’t Rely on Experts Doveryai, no proveryai (trust, but verify). —OLD RUSSIAN PROVERB,” — Nat Greene Proverb Copy Share Image
“People are socialized not to “challenge” what respected people believe.” — Nat Greene Respect Copy Share Image
“I never guess. It is a shocking habit—destructive to the logical faculty.1 —SHERLOCK HOLMES, IN SIGN OF THE FOUR” — Nat Greene Sherlock Copy Share Image
“most people believe they’re making fact-based decisions, when they are, in fact, making opinion-based ones.” — Nat Greene Decision making Copy Share Image
“Noticing and eliminating distractions will enable you to stay on target when you’re facing down your next complex problem.” — Nat Greene Distractions Copy Share Image
“Perhaps many aid organizations make assumptions about the problem they are solving, and throw hundreds of billions of dollars at the problem… — Nat Greene Billions Dollars Copy Share Image
“It is possible, with lots of hard work, dedication, and timely help, to make a good writer out of a merely competent… — Nat Greene Competent Copy Share Image
“In my own experience I have found that most problem-solving methods promote guessing at some point in the process, but that it… — Nat Greene Guessing Copy Share Image
“Truly great problem-solvers powerfully communicate the value of the problem-solving process and difficulty of the problem once the solution is found.” — Nat Greene Communication Copy Share Image
