Tag: assumptions

Problem Solving like a Magician (9-8-26)

We are going to kick off a series of things that inspired me during our internal Strategic Insights Summit.  We will start with what David Corsaro taught us about learning how to solve problems like a magician.

David gets on stage and starts by sharing his passion for magic and for gathering insights.  He shares how he has been doing magic for years, been on Penn and Teller, and performed for countless people.  After some initial framing, it’s time for the first trick.  He has us all follow along and asks us to copy his movements with our hands.  The audience is locked in.  We are doing everything he says.  Then, he does the next movement, and no one in the audience can do it.  We are flabbergasted, watching him do something we physically can’t do.

He then begins to break down the trick.  He has us go step by step to see what happened.  I don’t want to give away his secrets.  However, I will share the takeaway he left us with.  That takeaway is to be careful of your assumptions, and to ensure you question everything.  The entire audience had made one simple assumption, and that is what had doomed us to fail.

Let’s connect this to work.  Have you ever been in a situation where something didn’t go well, and you later realized it’s because you made an incorrect assumption?  I have.  It’s so easy to do this, especially when life is moving so quickly.  It’s also easy, because we are programmed to fall into a routine.  Think about it.  How many times have you heard, “Well, that’s just how we do it,” as if it were a law written in stone?

The world is moving and changing faster than ever before.  If we are going to build something for a new kind of future, we need to be constantly challenging ourselves and the status quo.  This all starts with recognizing and challenging the assumptions we make.

The challenge- What assumptions will you challenge today?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Chess and the Power to Evolve Rules (2-11-26)

This week we are going to kick off a series inspired by how my kids play chess.  This week is about chess and the power to evolve rules.

The other day Cameron asked me to sit down and play chess with him.  When I did the first thing I asked was, “What rules are we playing by?”  At this point you might be confused.  If you’ve played chess, you know there is a standard set of rules that dictates how pieces move.  This set of rules impacts how people strategize and play the game.

Cameron and Alice enjoy normal chess, and they have found a lot of joy in creating new versions.  Each version begins with the normal rules of the game and then adds new twists ranging from the ability to bring pieces back from the dead to have traitors that take your own pieces.  Every unique wrinkle changes the way you strategize and play the game.  I ask what version they want to play, so I can also have a say in shaping the rules.

Let’s make two connections to work.  First, how many times have you heard people at work say things like, “This is the process.  This is the way we do things.  This is just the environment we operate in.”?  Have you been the one to say those things?  I have. It happens to the best of us 😉  Often, when we think of work, we believe that the rules are fixed, but they don’t have to be.  Cam and Alice have shown us that we can evolve the rules just like in chess.  When we evolve the rules, we change the way we think about and play the game.  Every process, every workflow, and every preconceived notion can and should be challenged.  This is the only way to make progress.

Here is the second connection.  The environment is changing faster than ever before.  If we are not intentional about evolving the game we call work, then we will just have to blindly accept whatever new rules come our way.  I’d much rather shape the rules and the game.  What about you?

The challenge: How will you challenge the rules and shape the games you play?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry