One habit that school has repeatedly taught me is that when I am presented with a problem, I need a solution immediately. The process is straightforward. See a problem. Come up with a solution. The same process happens in homework and on exams.

At the workplace, I learned that there often needs to be an additional step. What I missed early in my career was understanding the current state of the situation. As an example, if a person is asked to figure out how to recognize the team more, one common approach is to brainstorm about ways to recognize others and jump directly into solution mode. What that typically misses is understanding what is already happening today so that whatever solution is designed with the current context in mind. Only with that full understanding can one even start to think about what type of recognition programs that is needed.

When presented with a problem, it is beneficial to fight that inclination to move quickly to find a solution. Often, the first step to solving a problem is to step back to understand the current state and then move forward from there.

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