Exempt Individual Contributor: Core

Too often we think first and only of solutions. Early solutions are not likely to be the best. Set aside the first 50 percent of the time for questions and problem definition and the last 50 percent of the time for solutions. Asking more questions early on helps you rethink the problem and come to more and different solutions. Keep asking why. See how many causes you can come up with and how many organizing categories you can put them in. This increases the chance of a better solution because you can see more connections. Try to solve the problem as close to the root cause as possible.

Not all new ideas are successful. Prepare yourself for this. Research indicates that more successful people have made more mistakes than the less successful. Try new things often. Go for small wins. You can quickly recover if you miss, and more importantly, learn from the results. Never give up when you believe there is a way to make something better. Think of exploring as a series of try-learn -try again -learn some more.

If you find yourself defaulting to the established way of doing things, you’re not alone. Our brains are more conditioned to be comfortable with the status quo. Change of any kind makes our brains work harder than staying the same. The good news is we can override the brains tendency toward inertia by constantly trying something new: new ways of doing things, new experiences, and new people. This will silence the worried voice inside your head that keeps you tethered to what is comfortable and familiar.