
In society, we are encouraged to push harder if we fail. While that is generally good advice, simply exerting more effort without making any other changes may not always work.
Imagine solving problems like hitting a nail with a hammer. The primary step is to hit harder if the nail doesn’t fit. However, if that fails, here are some more creative things that you can do.
1. Change the hammer.
At the start of the 20th century, bullock carts and horses were used for transportation. When people wanted to move faster, the instinctive next step would have been to check how much faster the animals could be made to move (hitting the nail harder with the same hammer).
However, the automobile (a new hammer) was proposed as an alternative to animals, and the transport industry transformed.
Change the hammer, change the results.
2. Change the nail.
Alcoa is a global mining and processing company. In 1987, its profitability had sunk and there were product quality issues. Amid this crisis, a new CEO, Paul O’Neill, was elected.
Investors thought that the primary priority of the new CEO would be increasing revenues (the current nail). However, he declared that safety would be the top priority (changing the nail). A lot of investors became concerned.
Safety measures were implemented across factories despite the company running in losses. What followed was a fairytale comeback for the company.
First, whenever there was an accident, a report of the accident had to reach the CEO within 24 hours. This meant that, from the floor to the CEO, communication was strengthened at all levels.
Second, from the CEO to the workers, everyone now had a shared goal of safety. Everyone felt connected. The morale of the employees improved.
Third, to make processes safer, a deeper understanding was needed. The same understanding helped drive many continuous improvement initiatives, thus improving quality.
At the end of Paul O’Neill’s tenure, net income increased by 5 times and the stock value by 500%.
A detailed version of this initiative can be read at Orionrisk. Also, the book ‘The Power of Habit’ by Charles Duhigg, has an interesting writeup of this incident, tying it to building good habits.
Change the nail, change the results.
3. Questioning the process of hammering
Dale Carnegie, in his book ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ talks about an incident regarding law enforcement which I have summarized in my own words below:
A law enforcement office had noticed frequent fires in a forest area. These fires were usually caused by careless teenagers who set up campfires and then did not put out the fire completely. He noticed one more group who were about to depart and do the same.
Instead of enforcing his authority (hammering the nail), he chatted with them like a friend. He narrated his childhood memories of campfires and how happy he was that they were making campfires too. He then gently suggested that it would help him if they could put out the fire. They immediately did (no hammering needed).
Change the process, change the results.
The above are a few different ways of approaching life’s problems. One can also strengthen the hand that hammers (energize oneself to handle life’s problems better) or improve the hammering technique (upskill to face life’s challenges more efficiently).
I hope that this article encourages and motivates you to look at your problems from a different lens and helps you come up with innovative solutions.
About the author: Anirudh Murali is a data scientist based out of India. He likes to learn from everyone he meets and read about diverse topics.
Great Job Anirudh, it does gonna help me to improve the ways I should tackle my life problem
Thanks a lot for the kind words Aafreen! I’m happy that you found it useful.😊
Nice one Ani 👏
Thank you very much Lakshmi!
Dear Anirudh, it is truly amazing how you express what you want to convey so excellently through your writings. This one really takes the cake. Fabulous 👌🏻👌🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🥇🥇🥇🥇
Thank you very much Babu uncle! Very happy to hear the encouraging words.
Very practical support….. beautifully scripted.
Thank you very much miss!😊
Hi Anirudh
Always a pleasure to read your articles and source of inspiration and learning for everyone Anirudh age no bar
Shows your love for reading finding solutions apart from your day job
Thank you very much doctor! I’m very happy to hear the encouraging words!
Nice write up. You have fixed problems from different angles.
Thank you very much Balasubramaniam!