Coaching practices for Problem Solving Mindset
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Problem Solving Mindset, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- The moment a problem shows up I lock onto the first fix that comes to mind and start running with it
- The second a problem lands my gut reaction is "of course, this is just me, I can’t handle anything"
- I keep brainstorming ways to make this thing succeed and my mind just keeps agreeing with itself
- I’ve got maybe two ideas for what to do about this and both feel hopeless, so I shoot every other thought down before I even finish it
- My mind is locked onto one way of seeing this and I literally cannot picture another angle
Practices that may help
- Adopt a "not-knowing" stance before problem-solving
Delay solution-generation by first articulating what you genuinely do not know about a problem.
Beginner's Mind (Shoshin), Made Practical - Build a positive problem orientation
Treat problems as normal, solvable challenges rather than signs of personal failure.
Problem-Solving Therapy, Made Practical - State the goal, then invert it
Ask "what would guarantee I fail at this?" before asking how to succeed.
Inversion: Solve Problems Backward - Generate solutions without premature evaluation
List as many potential solutions as possible before judging any of them.
Problem-Solving Therapy, Made Practical - Problem Reframing: Solving the Right Problem First
Problem reframing means deliberately reconsidering what problem you are actually trying to solve before generating solutions. Min Basadur’s work on creative problem-solving shows that the framing you start with strongly constrains the solutions you find — changing the framing often unlocks solutions that were invisible under the original definition. - Reverse the problem to break fixation
Ask the opposite question ("How could we make this worse?") to escape the constraints of the original framing.
Problem Reframing: Solving the Right Problem First - Climb the why–why ladder
Ask "why is this a problem?" repeatedly to reveal the higher-level goal your current framing may be missing.
Problem Reframing: Solving the Right Problem First - Use inversion as the first model in every problem
Before solving a problem, ask what would guarantee failure — then avoid those things.
Mental Models: Charlie Munger’s Latticework Approach - Reverse brainstorm: solve the opposite problem first
Ask "How would we guarantee the worst possible outcome?" — then invert every answer.
Lateral Thinking, Made Practical - Map who actually owns the problem
Identify whose problem it truly is before investing in a solution — the framing often changes when you name the real owner.
Problem Reframing: Solving the Right Problem First
Related concerns
- Problem Reframing Solving The Right Problem First After A Setback
Problem reframing means deliberately reconsidering what problem you are actually trying to solve before generating solutions. Min Basadur’s work on creative problem-solving shows that the framing you start with strongly constrains the solutions you find — changing the framing often unlocks solutions that were invisible under the original definition.
- Problem Reframing Solving The Right Problem First As A Caregiver
Problem reframing means deliberately reconsidering what problem you are actually trying to solve before generating solutions. Min Basadur’s work on creative problem-solving shows that the framing you start with strongly constrains the solutions you find — changing the framing often unlocks solutions that were invisible under the original definition.
- Problem Reframing Solving The Right Problem First When Overwhelmed
Problem reframing means deliberately reconsidering what problem you are actually trying to solve before generating solutions. Min Basadur’s work on creative problem-solving shows that the framing you start with strongly constrains the solutions you find — changing the framing often unlocks solutions that were invisible under the original definition.
- Inversion Problem Solving
Inversion is the mental model — popularized by Charlie Munger via the mathematician Carl Jacobi’s "invert, always invert" — of approaching a problem from its opposite end: instead of asking how to succeed, ask what would guarantee failure, then systematically avoid it. It is a reasoning heuristic, not a studied intervention, but it reliably surfaces risks and assumptions that forward thinking misses.
- Inversion Solve Problems Backward Under Stress
Inversion is the mental model — popularized by Charlie Munger via the mathematician Carl Jacobi’s "invert, always invert" — of approaching a problem from its opposite end: instead of asking how to succeed, ask what would guarantee failure, then systematically avoid it. It is a reasoning heuristic, not a studied intervention, but it reliably surfaces risks and assumptions that forward thinking misses.
- Inversion Solve Problems Backward When Overwhelmed
Inversion is the mental model — popularized by Charlie Munger via the mathematician Carl Jacobi’s "invert, always invert" — of approaching a problem from its opposite end: instead of asking how to succeed, ask what would guarantee failure, then systematically avoid it. It is a reasoning heuristic, not a studied intervention, but it reliably surfaces risks and assumptions that forward thinking misses.
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