There are 2 modes of thought:

- Problem-Oriented
- Solution-Oriented.

Often times the second mode doesn't even cross our minds. Below are 2 short but insightful case studies:

Case 1
When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they found out that the pens wouldn't work at zero gravity (ink won't flow down to the writing surface). To solve this problem, it took them one decade and $12 million.
They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside down, underwater, in practically any surface including crystal and in a temperature range from below freezing to over 300 degrees C. So... what did the Russians do...??
They used a pencil...


Case 2

One of the most memorable case studies on Japanese management was the case of the empty soap box, which happened in one of Japan 's biggest cosmetics companies. The company received a complaint that a consumer had bought a soap box that was empty.
Immediately the authorities isolated the problem to the assembly line, which transported all the packaged boxes of soap to the delivery department.
For some reason, one soap box went through the assembly line empty. Management asked its engineers to solve the problem. Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine with high-resolution monitors manned by two people to watch all the soap boxes that passed through the line to make sure they were not empty. No doubt, they worked hard and they worked fast but they spent a whoopee amount to do so.

But when a rank-and-file employee in a small company was posed with the same problem, he did not get into complications of X-rays, etc., but instead came out with another solution.
He bought a strong industrial electric fan and pointed it at the assembly line. He switched the fan on, and as each soap box passed the fan, it simply blew the empty boxes out of the line.



Moral

Always look for simple solutions. Devise the simplest possible solution that solves the problems :-)

Taken from http://www.globalone.tv/profiles/blogs/focusing-on-solutions-rather

Thats brilliant.

facebook'd

So true

Hahahaha, im pretty sure ive got a problem orientated mind . I like x-ray machines and of course im going to use a pen!

I don't buy it. Humans are more complicated than just having two ways of solving problems.

Plus when we studied this kind of thing at uni, these two 'types' were never mentioned.

Also, putting people into two types is overly simplistic anyway.

Well Emilia didn't actually say there were 2 types of people, she said there were 2 modes of thinking.

I found it interesting to read the different solutions and it reminded me of something I've heard before "Think smarter, not harder" and these are a good example of it

There are many different ways that the brain can use its power to solve problems I'm sure emily, but I think you missed the point of what Emilia is talking about.

That it is basically better to focus on different solutions than a problem because focusing on the problem keeps you close-minded, as shown in those two great examples.

There are two ways of solving problems; the easy way and the hard way

exactly

I disagree.

There is more involved in problem solving than being problem or solution oriented. When you think about it, how can anyone be solution oriented unless the solution is obvious? And if the solution is obvious it's not really a problem.

Life problems, like those ones that Emilia posted, there isn't just the two ways of solving them. You need creativity to solve life problems like them. There isn't just one smart solution. Like the problem about the soap: another solution could be to weigh each of the boxes as it goes down the assembly line.

Even though this is in Deep and Meaningful, you are taking what this is about too far.

Once you realise how easy you could have solved it, you want to kick yourself in the head or laugh about it, like I did.

Yeah, I agree with Emilia.

This is not representing two modes of thinking Emily, but two ways to look at a problem.

To be solution-oriented as Emilia described it doesn't mean that a solution needs to be obvious to you, what it means is that you need to look for a solution instead of focusing on the problem. In other words, focus on what you want, not what is stopping you from getting to your goal. This doesn't mean that there is only one solution to a problem Emily, there could be an infinite number of solutions to a problem, what the point of this is to focus on getting a solution as it will be more productive.

*In reply to Emilia's post*

I can't turn off the critical minded psychologist in me. And when something is so blatantly incorrect because it's written by someone who doesn't really know how the brain works, I can't help but correct it.

I was simply adding my thoughts on the opening post. Yes I had a different reaction to it than everybody else, but there's nothing wrong with that, it just means that I saw it differently.

lol at the way you skip over my comment emily.

Emilia was merely giving a couple of good examples of how a complicated problem can be turned into a simple solution. You seem to be deviating from the real topic here, this isn't about the different ways that the brain works, or different types of problems, or different processing skills that the brain has, that's really for another topic imo.

I just found it to be a very insightful example.

And I don't think that Emilia ever literally meant that there are only 2 ways of thinking emily, you just seem to be taking this too seriously...

Maybe I am taking it too seriously. Maybe the thread is in the wrong section of the forum. Maybe I'm not thinking properly because my brain is full of ****. Maybe I'm looking at it differently to everyone else.

I skipped over your last post Martin because I cbb responding and I had already written my response to Emilia, but you posted before I had a chance to.

I think this whole thing is based off the moral
"Always look for simple solutions. Devise the simplest possible solution that solves the problems :-)"

And you are right Em, there might not be one answer.
But that is what it is pointing out

If you are given a problem and you come to an answer, you don't just leave it at that one answer. You think to yourself, "Is that the easiest way of solving the issue?" because in the two cases, they wasted so much money and resources just to solve the problem.

I don't think that you always need creativity to solve problems. Yes, with Case 2 you do, but with Case 1, you didn't, because they were too focused on the fact the pen didn't work, that they didn't even think if they even needed to use a pen.

And that is where a obvious solution gets overlooked. There is always a problem until you solve it, regardless if the solution is obvious or not.

Emily is just being the psychologist that she is