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From the book "You are Solving the Wrong Problem"

Chapter 15: Remove Distractions

The Apollo 13 mission is a compelling example of problem-solving by eliminating distractions. The 1995 movie of the same name is a docudrama that tells the exciting story. On April 13, 1970, the spacecraft was on its planned route to the Moon when disaster struck. A liquid oxygen tank exploded and caused severe damage to the spacecraft. The three astronauts aboard were in imminent danger. The mission was on the brink of complete disaster.

NASA immediately prioritized the safety and well-being of the astronauts over all else. The original mission objective was to land on the Moon, but this goal was abandoned. All planned scientific experiments and data collection activities were scrapped. The focus was now on:

• Resource Preservation: In addition to the explosion of one liquid oxygen tank, the crew discovered a leak in another tank as well. Having enough air to survive was a huge concern.
• Communication: Ground control needed to remain in contact with the astronauts to provide them with instructions and keep them calm.
• Simplicity: Procedures needed to be streamlined and accurate. The astronauts would be operating within a high-stress environment. In fact, a "quiet period" was established when mission control limited non-essential communications with the crew. This helped to minimize distractions and ensure clear communication. Instructions needed to be clear and precise, as navigation was critical. The spacecraft needed to re-enter Earth's atmosphere at the correct angle and speed.

NASA's team of engineers, scientists, and mission controllers focused their efforts on these core issues. The first step the astronauts took was to power up the Lunar Module, Aquarius, to use as a "lifeboat." They also shut down the Command Module, Odyssey, to conserve battery power. They begin planning how they could later restart the Command Module to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and land.

Ground control adapted a makeshift solution to manage carbon dioxide levels in the Lunar Module. With Aquarius's navigation systems offline, the crew manually performed any vital course corrections, steering the Lunar Module and controlling its engine.

Back on Earth, engineers devised a plan to power up the Command Module without overloading its systems. The crew successfully restarted Odyssey by drawing additional power from Aquarius. They didn't know the integrity of Odyssey's heat shield, but they had no choice. There was a prolonged radio blackout during re-entry. However, once communication was restored, the crew reported they were okay. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Odyssey splashed down safely.

The crew essentially needed the right combination of power, air, and propulsion. That is exclusively what ground control and the astronauts focused on. It got them back home to Earth safely.

Apple's focus under Steve Jobs

In non-survival situations, maintaining focus requires discipline. If a business's sales are struggling, there are numerous courses of action that can be taken. The company could increase its marketing spend. It could hire a new marketing firm and rebrand itself. It could change its product design. Alternatively, it could focus on a digital transition out of retail. There are hundreds of potential variables.

You can't focus on everything at once. You have to prioritize. To deal with complexity, you perform analysis to prioritize and determine what is important. You put together a strategy and then concentrate on solid execution. You continually measure results and monitor the situation. Course corrections are made as necessary.

As of the time of writing, Apple is the most valuable company in the world by market capitalization at $2.7 trillion. However, in the late 1990s, this was not the case. In the first half of that decade, Apple launched a series of products that performed poorly.

The Apple Newton was one of the first personal digital assistant (PDA) devices to hit the market. It featured handwriting recognition, but there were some quirks with the technology. It ran on Newton OS, a proprietary operating system. Newton was the basis for other devices as well, including the MessagePad series of PDAs. Apple also introduced the eMate 300, a low-cost laptop designed for schools that also ran on Newton OS. High price points and problems with the technology led to the cancellation of these products upon Steve Jobs's return to the company.

There was also the short-lived Macintosh LC product line. These personal computers were designed to sell to schools, in the tradition of the Apple II series. I actually remember using an Apple IIe myself in a high school class. The Macintosh LC product line only lasted a few years.

The company was in danger of bankruptcy. While the overall NASDAQ indices were up, the value of Apple stock was cut in half during the same time period. Investors lost confidence in the once great company. Apple laid off thousands of employees and closed some production facilities. Steve Jobs came back to Apple in 1997 as CEO, with the goal of turning things around.

Steve Jobs looked at the company's existing products and saw they were not competitive. The business was limiting itself by only focusing on the high-end and education markets. The technology was not up to par with Apple's excellence.

Job's turnaround vision for the company was based on a few simple principles.

As a part of the simplification effort, Jobs had the company focus on what he saw as its core strength: software. This included creating software to simplify the customer experience. Apple created iTunes so that customers could procure and synchronize content across their devices. They created the App Store, so there was a built-in place to get new applications. The goal was to make it easy for customers to obtain and use their products.

The turnaround plan clearly worked. Apple returned to its position as a premier technology company. The introduction of the iPhone and subsequent versions catapulted Apple into its position as the most valuable company in the world. However, it is important to note that this revival was largely based on quality and simplicity.

If you look at the story of both Tesla and Apple, a common theme emerges. These companies succeeded based on quality engineering and simplified business strategies. Make no mistake, each company has excellent technical products and skilled engineering teams. Neither could have survived without the engineering required to create their products. The business strategy, however, was equally important. In both cases, a simplified approach drove their product strategy. This combined with superior technology led to tremendous success.

When you get down to it and solve the right problem, the solution can be quite simple. You need to remove the distractions to help get this to this point. You have to be willing to take a fresh perspective and look at things through a different lens. Once you choose your perspective, narrow your focus and concentrate on making that vision a reality.

Alternate between focus and distraction

If you perform a web search using the term "distraction", you will get an astronomical number of search results. Many of them will show how to organize and simplify your life. Until now, we have been discussing distractions in terms of prioritization. When we solve a problem, we want to focus on the most important factors. It's better to discard irrelevant details. We previously considered the problem of the thief who stole $100 from the store. Other transactions noted in the question were essentially red herrings, or distractions. They had no net effect on the money lost by the store.

We live in a world with distractions everywhere. To minimize distractions, you can set aside dedicated time for work. You can turn off notifications and put your smartphone away for a time period. Block off time and allow yourself to make progress.

Sustained focus is essential during the active, critical thinking phase. As discussed earlier, you can step away following that to allow your subconscious mind to go to work. At that point, distraction is a good thing but only after intentional focus.

Research shows that there are natural human cycles of focus and alertness every 90 to 120 minutes.

These cycles come from the ultradian rhythm. While the 24-hour circadian rhythm is controlled by the brain and influenced by daylight, ultradian rhythms occur within each day. They are driven by alternating patterns of hormone secretion, brain wave activity, and cell regeneration. The research suggests we are naturally inclined to cycle between higher focus/alertness and lower focus about every 90 minutes.

Here are some tips for leveraging the ultradian rhythm to enhance problem-solving:

• Time box focus sessions to align with the natural 90-minute cycles. When you feel your focus waning, take a break.
• Use the first 20 minutes of each focus session for intense concentration. This capitalizes on the spike in alertness when switching from rest to activity.
• Eliminate distractions during focus sessions to capitalize on peak mental performance. Close your email, silence your phone, or shut the office door.
• After the initial burst of intense focus, switch to a more relaxed, diffused thinking mode. Let your mind wander and incubate ideas. Removing intensity can stimulate creativity.
• After 90-120 minutes, take a break outdoors or do some light exercise such as walking. Gentle movement helps stimulate new neural connections to see problems differently. Use this time to consciously disengage from the problem. You want to prevent mental burnout and overload.
• Allow yourself some flexibility. Sometimes the sessions will be shorter, and sometimes they will be longer. Listen to what your body is telling you.

At the end of the day, we can only speed things up so much. We cannot ignore the cycle of active and passive problem-solving.

Gordon Gekko, the character portrayed by Michael Douglas in the 1987 movie Wall Street famously said the following: "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good." He said it "captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit" in all its forms. The quote is famous for its shock value, but also for its insight. We borrow the concept here to say that, distraction, in intervals, is also good.

What if I eliminate a "distraction" that ends up being important?

During the curiosity phase, we ask questions and strive to learn about all aspects of a problem. We then narrow our focus to high-priority items through a process of fan-in. However, at times, we may discover a need to backtrack and revisit topics that we initially set aside. It is possible that a detail we previously discarded might hold significant relevance to the problem.

This is an inherent risk that we all encounter, and the skill lies in determining where to allocate our priorities to minimize the need for backtracking. This is particularly evident in the field of medicine, more frequently than we would like to admit.

Let us consider a scenario where a team of doctors is attempting to identify the cause behind a patient's mysterious symptoms, which include fatigue, joint pain, and occasional rashes. The initial diagnostic tests show no clear abnormalities, leaving the team perplexed. During their discussions, a nurse mentions that the patient recently traveled to a tropical region and had a brief encounter with a stray dog.

Initially, the doctors disregarded this information as a minor, unrelated detail, focusing on more common or "likely" medical conditions. They continued running tests for autoimmune disorders and typical infections.

As the team struggled to reach a diagnosis, one doctor decided to reevaluate the travel history. It was discovered that the patient had a skin lesion at the time and that the dog had licked a small wound on the patient's leg. Upon this reassessment, the team realized that the patient might have contracted a rare tropical disease transmitted through animal saliva. This led to an autoimmune response and the observed symptoms. Further targeted tests confirmed the diagnosis, allowing the doctors to initiate appropriate treatment.

In this example, a seemingly insignificant detail turned out to be a crucial piece of information. While our aim is to eliminate distractions and reduce complexity, we must always maintain an open mind. Rather than outright discarding aspects of the problem, we can think of it as deprioritizing them. We, as humans, cannot consider everything at once. There isn't enough capacity in our conscious minds to do so. Therefore, prioritization is necessary. However, our subconscious mind is adept at processing various puzzle pieces simultaneously, even when they are temporarily de-prioritized.

The Art Heist

Imagine you are a detective investigating a burglary at a local art gallery. The gallery owner reported that several valuable paintings were stolen during the night. The security system was disabled, and there were no eyewitnesses. The following information has been gathered:

• The gallery has state-of-the-art security cameras, but they were not functioning on the night of the burglary due to a power outage.
• The gallery is located in a quiet neighborhood with low crime rates.
• The stolen paintings include works by renowned artists, each valued at over a million dollars.
• The gallery owner recently had a dispute with an art dealer over the pricing of some paintings.
• There were no signs of forced entry, and the alarm system was not triggered.
• The gallery is insured against theft, and the owner stands to receive a significant payout for the stolen artworks.

Your task is to answer the following questions:

• What are the critical details that could help identify potential suspects or motives for the burglary?
• Which details are likely distractions or unrelated to solving the burglary?
• Based on the critical details, propose a hypothesis regarding who might be responsible for the burglary and why.

This is a fictitious example, so there is no single correct answer. The purpose is to exercise your critical thinking skills. Here are our suggested answers.

What are the critical details that could help identify potential suspects or motives for the burglary? * The security cameras were not functioning due to a power outage. * The gallery owner had a recent dispute with an art dealer. * There were no signs of forced entry. * The gallery is insured, and the owner stands to receive a significant payout.

Which details are likely distractions or unrelated to solving the burglary? * The neighborhood's low crime rates. * The value of the stolen paintings. * The gallery's location.

Based on the critical details, propose a hypothesis regarding who might be responsible for the burglary and why.

• The insurance payout motive could indicate financial gain as a motive for the crime. We don't know the financial condition of the owner or the gallery, so those would be questions to ask. The lack of forced entry suggests someone with access to the gallery, and the disabled security cameras during a power outage provide a convenient opportunity.
• The dispute with the art dealer may have led to the theft as an act of revenge or retaliation. This seems unlikely, however, because it appears to be an inside job. The other art dealer would have needed to work with an employee or an expert thief who entered undetected. Interviewing all the employees would be the next step to try to confirm or rule out this hypothesis.

5 star reviews on Amazon

"Provides concrete techniques and tools"

"What's truly fascinating is how accessible these new approaches are"