• Complexity

    Complexity

    Feb 21, 2017

    Complex problems deserve complex solutions.

  • First Question

    First Question

    Feb 6, 2017

    When we meet a person we have not met before, one of the first questions we often ask is some form of “What do you do?”

  • One Weird Trick that Solves All Problems

    One Weird Trick that Solves All Problems

    Jan 10, 2017

    Clever marketers have learned how to structure headlines to get us to click on a link.

  • You are a Genius

    You are a Genius

    Nov 20, 2016

    You are a Genius. How does it feel to read those words about you? Pretty good, eh?

  • A Pretty Good Problem Solver

    A Pretty Good Problem Solver

    Nov 8, 2016

    What are the characteristics of a Pretty Good Problem Solver?

  • Ants

    Ants

    Sep 27, 2016

    When you view the world from 10,000 feet, people on the ground look like ants.

  • Exercise

    Exercise

    Aug 30, 2016

    Would you expect to win an Olympic competition with no practice and training? Of course not, that would be ridiculous.

  • He (She) Knew; or Should Have Known

    He (She) Knew; or Should Have Known

    Aug 15, 2016

    I believe a new standard is coming for the behavior of leaders.

  • Painful Repairs

    Painful Repairs

    Jul 6, 2016

    The process of solving certain problems requires a physical sacrifice by the problem solver.

  • Learning from your Mistakes

    Learning from your Mistakes

    Apr 16, 2016

    It is very easy to tell new engineers that they should learn from their mistakes, but often we struggle to explain how we should avoid those mistakes in the future.

  • Chain of Events

    Chain of Events

    Feb 27, 2016

    Have you ever watched or read a story of an air crash investigation?

  • Write it Down

    Write it Down

    Feb 1, 2016

    You will be better than 90% of your competition, if you just follow this one rule: Write it down.

  • Errata-002

    Errata-002

    Dec 30, 2015

    We recently discovered a bunch of conversion errors in the Kindle ebook version of the second edition of An Engineer's Guide to Solving Problems.

  • Offline !

    Offline !

    Nov 12, 2015

    Some of you might have noticed that recently this website was not available for several days.

  • Inertia

    Inertia

    Jul 12, 2015

    The most powerful force in the universe might just be inertia.

  • Home, Sweet Home

    Home, Sweet Home

    Apr 26, 2015

    The words family and familiar have a common root and surprisingly similar meanings.

  • Thinking is Hard

    Thinking is Hard

    Jan 25, 2015

    Thinking is Hard. There are lots of different kinds of thinking, but this post addresses the thinking associated with making choices and decisions that affect any project or problem-solving effort.

  • When Problem Solving Methods Fail

    When Problem Solving Methods Fail

    Sep 28, 2014

    Sometimes we simply cannot "solve" a problem to our own satisfaction. There are many reasons this can happen, but these reasons probably do not mean that your problem-solving method was bad.

  • Does sharing knowledge make you less valuable?

    Does sharing knowledge make you less valuable?

    Aug 24, 2014

    Some people worry that documenting and sharing what they know makes them less valuable. I present arguments that sharing increases your value.

  • Document or Die!

    Document or Die!

    Jul 5, 2014

    The DoD Principle is easily summed up with the short statement, "If it's not worth documenting it's probably not worth doing."

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