Problem-Solving Skills Development

Problemeering: Engineering the Problem Before the Solution What is it? Problemeering (problem + engineering) is the art and science of identifying, defining, and framing problems so they can be solved more creatively and efficiently. Why it matters Many product launches, business strategies, and even personal projects flop because they target the wrong problem or never define one at all. Problemeering helps you: • Understand the real issue • Avoid premature “band‑aid” fixes • Uncover root causes and hidden opportunities • Frame challenges in a way that sparks breakthrough ideas Key steps Observe & Empathize – Listen to users and spot pain points. Define – State the core problem in one crisp sentence. Reframe – Challenge every assumption: “Is this really the problem?” Explore Context – Map the ecosystem, constraints, and stakeholders. Ask “How might we…?” – Turn the problem frame into innovation prompts. Quick example Late‑delivery complaints in a food‑delivery app. Instead of jumping straight to route optimization, a problemeering mindset asks: • Are customer expectations realistic? • Does the UI overpromise delivery times? • Are restaurants accepting orders they can’t fulfill? Addressing these upstream issues often fixes “late deliveries” more effectively than tweaking maps alone. Origin Not yet in the dictionary it just reminds us: engineer the problem first, then engineer the solution.

What’s the #1 thing teams borrow from their leader? Not strategy. Not intelligence. Not vision. It’s their emotional state. A client came to me last year in the middle of a high-stakes transition. He was brilliant — strategic, visionary, results-driven. But under pressure? His team felt his stress. Meetings were rushed, feedback was sharp, and people walked on eggshells. He didn’t realize that his own fight-or-flight response was setting the emotional tone for everyone else. When leaders are reactive, teams shrink. When leaders regulate, teams expand. This is the hidden superpower of great leaders: emotional regulation. It’s not about suppressing emotion. It’s about choosing your response instead of being hijacked by it. Here are 5 practical ways to start: 1️⃣ Notice your triggers. Ask: What just set me off? 2️⃣ Name the feeling. Anger, fear, frustration—naming lowers intensity. 3️⃣ Pause before acting. Breathe. Contain. Don’t fire off the email just yet. 4️⃣ Reframe the situation. Is it a crisis or just a challenge? 5️⃣ Model composure. Calm is contagious. So is chaos. Back to my client: within months of practicing these shifts, his team noticed the difference. Meetings became less tense, creativity went up, and deadlines stopped feeling like fire drills. Same team. Same pressures. Different energy. That’s the ripple effect of a regulated leader. You don’t just change yourself. You change the system. You create a holding environment for your team — a space where innovation, problem-solving, and resilience can thrive. If you’re leading through change and want to master the art of calm, contained leadership — I’d love to help you build that capacity.

Mental clarity has become my superpower in business. Today I found myself in a high-stakes negotiation that could have easily triggered emotional reactions. Instead, I paused. I took three deep breaths. I reminded myself: "Strategy over emotion." When tensions rose across the table, I noticed the other party getting increasingly agitated, voice rising, hands gesturing frantically. That's when the contrast became most apparent: 👉🏻 The calmer I remained, the more flustered they became 👉🏻 The clearer I thought, the more scattered their arguments 👉🏻 The more strategic my responses, the more reactive theirs This wasn't a coincidence. We often underestimate how our emotional state directly impacts our decision-making abilities. Research shows that emotional decisions are: 🌟 More impulsive 🌟 Less rational 🌟 Typically regretted later 🌟 Often costly in business I've learned to transform high-pressure situations into opportunities for precision by: 1️⃣ Creating mental distance before responding 2️⃣ Focusing on my breathing when tensions rise 3️⃣ Asking clarifying questions instead of making statements 4️⃣ Writing key points down to maintain focus 5️⃣ Setting emotional boundaries before entering difficult conversations The outcome today? We reached an agreement that exceeded my original targets. Not because I was more skilled or knowledgeable, but because I remained calculated while others lost their composure. The ability to stay calm isn't just about appearing professional—it's a tangible business advantage that directly impacts your bottom line. How do you maintain your composure during challenging business situations? I'd love to hear your techniques. For those looking to develop this skill, start with something simple: next time you feel emotion rising during a negotiation, pause for 5 seconds before responding. You'll be amazed at the difference it makes. LinkedIn News Asia Nanyang Technological University Singapore I am Jason Thian, committed to helping leaders transform ordinary results into extraordinary outcomes through strategic thinking.

Crisis and Calm: The Power of Composed Leadership in Challenging Times "Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." – Viktor Frankl Leadership is often tested in moments of crisis. Over the years, I’ve navigated significant challenges, from the 2008 banking collapse to the 2016 VW Diesel Emissions Crisis and the complexities of leading through COVID-19. Each experience reinforced the importance of responding thoughtfully rather than reacting impulsively. In 2008, the banking collapse sent shockwaves through economies worldwide. This was my first real experience of a "proper" crisis. The feeling of "is this really happening" was real. I recall the fear and panic and as a leader how important is was to maintain my own composure to help the team stay focused on what we could control, rather than getting consumed by fear. In 2016, I was in the top chair of a VW Group company during the Diesel Emissions Crisis, one of the largest corporate scandals in history. The scrutiny was immense. Calm leadership proved vital in navigating the fallout, rebuilding trust, and steering the business forward. Fast forward to 2020, when COVID-19 disrupted industries and lives. As a CEO, I faced the challenge of navigating the business through the pandemic. Composure became my anchor, allowing the team to thrive through the chaos and uncertainty. The "Miracle on the Hudson" exemplifies this power. In 2009, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger calmly landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River after losing both engines, saving 155 lives. His decisive leadership under pressure shows the impact of staying composed in a crisis. Today it feels like the world is in a constant state of uncertainty, volatiltiy and complexity. Crisis is inevitable. Calm is a choice. Thoughtful leadership turns challenges into opportunities.

Getting Past ‘Either-Or’ Thinking The temptation to simplify issues into binary choices ‘Either-Or’ thinking, can be compelling. This cognitive shortcut helps us navigate complex decisions and challenges with apparent ease, but it often falls short of addressing the nuanced realities we face. ‘Either-Or’ thinking, also known as dichotomous thinking, refers to the cognitive process of framing issues in terms of two opposing options, with no middle ground or shades of Gray. For example, one might think in terms of success versus failure, right versus wrong, or liberal versus conservative. Here are some useful alternatives if you’re trapped by ‘Either-Or’ thinking. 1.  Embracing complexity instead of oversimplifying One of the primary drawbacks of ‘Either-Or’ thinking is that it oversimplifies complex issues. Most real-world problems are not black and white but involve multiple variables and perspectives. One alternative to ‘Either-Or’ thinking is to embrace the complexity of issues. This involves recognizing and exploring the multiple dimensions of a problem rather than reducing it to two extremes. By adopting a more nuanced perspective, individuals and organizations can develop far better solutions. 2.  Promoting gradation instead of polarizing ‘Either-Or’ thinking can contribute to polarization and division, particularly in social and political contexts. When individuals or groups view issues through a binary lens, it can exacerbate conflicts and entrench positions. Another approach is to view issues on a continuum rather than as discrete choices. This perspective acknowledges that most situations involve varying degrees of a particular characteristic rather than a binary opposition. 3.  Encouraging dialogue instead of critique By reducing issues to two opposing options, ‘Either-Or’ thinking can inhibit critical thinking and creativity. This binary approach discourages individuals from considering alternative perspectives or innovative solutions. Fostering dialogue and compromise is crucial in overcoming the limitations of ‘Either-Or’ thinking. Engaging in open discussions where multiple viewpoints are considered can lead to more collaborative and integrative solutions. #eitherorthinking #cognitiveshortcut #heuristic #thinkingfastandslow #danielkahneman #amostversky #positivepsychology #positiveleadership #positivepsychology #leadershipcoach #leadershipspeaker #ceoleadership #leadershipmentor #leadershipdevelopment #leadershiptrainer International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) Forbes Coaches Council Forbes The Center for Positive Leadership Center for Positive Organizations University of Missouri-Columbia University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Stayfit Health & Fitness World Pvt Ltd

No one teaches you composure in business school! But at some point in your career - when things are complex, fast, and unforgiving you realise that composure isn’t optional. It becomes the difference between being trusted and being tolerated. Composure isn’t stillness for appearance. It’s not the quiet before a storm. It’s what steadies a room during the storm. It shows up when people are panicking and looking for answers you don’t yet have. It shows up when the board wants direction and all you have is data that doesn’t add up. It shows up when someone disappoints you - and you resist the urge to react, because you know trust is easier to lose than rebuild. In my own leadership, I used to confuse composure with detachment. I thought I had to be distant to be stable. But real composure is deeply engaged. It listens fully. It holds tension without trying to control it. And it gives people space to think clearly because you are thinking clearly. Your tone becomes their tempo. Your rhythm becomes their reference point. The best senior leaders I know don’t speak more - they breathe better. And their presence shifts the room before they say a word. So here’s a question for you all :  When pressure rises - what atmosphere do you bring with you? And what would it take to become the calm, not the chaos? #corporateatoz

🛠️ One question I get asked often is: How do experienced technicians diagnose faults so quickly, sometimes in minutes, without running every test in the book? The answer lies in a mix of intuition, logic, and years of pattern recognition. Here’s what’s actually happening behind the scenes: 1️⃣ Sensory awareness → They listen to strange noises, feel vibrations, smell burning insulation, their senses are tuned like instruments. 2️⃣ Pattern memory → They’ve seen it before, not once, but dozens of times. And their brain stores those symptoms like mental flashcards. 3️⃣ Isolation technique → They rule out what’s working before chasing what’s not. This narrows the field, fast. 4️⃣ Start simple → They don’t jump to complex solutions. They check the basics first power, connections, settings, alignments. 5️⃣ Ask the right questions → Often, the operator holds the key. A simple, “When did this start?” or “What changed recently?” reveals more than a sensor scan. 6️⃣ Calm under pressure → They don’t panic. They pause, observe, and act methodically, even when the clock is ticking. Why does this matter beyond engineering? Because this troubleshooting mindset applies everywhere: → When leading teams → Solving business problems → Or making personal decisions under pressure 🧠 The best problem-solvers don’t just rely on tools, they develop awareness, stay calm, and trust their process. So next time you face a complex challenge, don’t rush. Slow down. Ask the right questions. Start simple. And trust that every problem has a pattern, you just have to learn to see it. 💬 What’s your go-to method when troubleshooting something under pressure? #Troubleshooting #EngineeringMindset #TechnicalExcellence #STEMCareers #ProblemSolving #SkilledTrades

How to define & understand problems to get better results from change initiatives. Often results are not delivered because (time pressured) leaders jump straight into problem-solving actions without making the time & space to understand & define what the problem is. Here's the "E5" approach to problem-framing: 1) Expand: explore all aspects of a problem & its nuances 2) Examine: understand underlying drivers & systemic contributors to the problem 3) Empathise: consider the perspectives of those who are most central to & affected by the problem 4) Elevate: understand how the problem connects to broader system issues 5) Envision: actively imagine & design solutions to the problem https://lnkd.in/eNWf4UPx. By Julia Binder & Michael D Watkins

We wasted $25K building features nobody used. At the time, I thought I was being "customer obsessed." I kept repeating the mantra: "Listen to your customers." So when prospects said: "We need more control knobs in deployment pipelines," I didn’t question it. I imagined: - Checks for every edge case - Rollout controls that screamed "enterprise-ready" - Config overrides for power users Weeks of engineering later, we launched. And then… nothing. No adoption. No excitement. No value. We hadn’t solved their problem. We’d just built what they asked for. The real pain wasn’t "give us more control knobs." It was "make deployments default safer." That subtle distinction cost us $25K. Now, before we write a single line of code, we force ourselves to ask: 1/ What problem is really behind this request? 2/ Why do you believe this solves it? 3/ What happens if we do nothing? The mistake stung. But it rewired how we build forever. 👉 Lesson: Customer asks are optional. Customer pain is mandatory.

Something I still hear too often: "Let's ask the user what they want" "Let's ask them if they like this feature" "Let's ask them what our product is missing" Sure you may think its a quick and easy way to understand the users needs, but really, it can lead you away from valid research data. Here's why: 1. Surface desires vs. underlying needs • Users often suggest features based on immediate thoughts without considering their true needs. • Example: More customisation options in a productivity app vs. an intuitive way to organize tasks. 2. Limited perspective • Users usually have a limited view of what's technologically possible. • Example: Small improvements vs. innovative solutions. 3. Solution bias • Asking for features shifts the conversation toward solutions rather than problems. • Example: Detailed maps in a navigation app vs. enhanced route suggestions based on real-time traffic. 4. Innovation constraints • Feature requests can restrict the creativity of your design team. • Example: More filters in a photo-editing app vs. a feature that suggests the best edits. 5. Confirmation bias • Risk of only hearing information that supports your preconceptions. • Example: Positive comments confirming existing beliefs vs. discovering valuable new insights. So let's remember to focus on understanding problems deeply, and solutions will follow naturally. How have you dealt with this question popping up in your organisation? Let me know in the comments below 👇