06/29/26
STORY
I was scheduled to meet with the Senior Director the next morning, and I still hadn’t come up with a solution.
The problem?
Regional Managers weren’t reading the weekly report that we’ve been sending out.
Week over week, we’d send out the report, and very few leaders would even look at it.
How do we get them to be more interested in reading the report, without taking a “stick” approach?
I was racking my brain the entire week and couldn’t figure out a solution that felt right.
It was after 7pm, and I was still in the office.
One of the leaders I work closely with, Riley, was also there in the office working late.
We ended up hanging out there for a bit with the office empty, just shooting the breeze.
The conversation was not about how to fix this issue; it was just casual and relaxed.
It felt really nice to take a break from thinking about this issue.
Somehow, to be honest I don’t exactly remember what sparked it, we started talking about what it takes to get people really interested and engaged even if it’s something they deem to be “work”.
If it’s fun, if it’s competitive, then people engage.
And that sparked an idea that we took with us to the meeting the next morning.
The solution was a gamified, competitive weekly quiz that we would invite managers to, where they would be celebrated for getting the right answers.
We’d make it fun, entertaining, and it would only take 15 minutes, once a week.
The Senior Director LOVED the idea; we launched it the following week, and it was a huge success.
The point?
Sometimes the best thing you can do is walk away from your work when you’re trying to solve a complex problem.
A conversation with a friend, a long walk outside, listening to music, something other than thinking about the task could be the best approach to coming up with a creative solution.
The subconscious will still be doing the work of trying to solve it…
And the conscious mind just may need a rest to allow what’s under the surface to come to light.
OBSERVATION
Psychologist Graham Wallas identified what he called the incubation stage of creative problem solving, which is the phenomenon where stepping away from a difficult problem is often what allows a breakthrough to emerge. Research has since confirmed that when conscious effort is set aside, the unconscious mind continues working, frequently arriving at solutions that focused thinking never could.
(Sio UN, Ormerod TC. Does incubation enhance problem solving? A meta-analytic review. Psychol Bull. 2009 Jan;135(1):94-120. doi: 10.1037/a0014212. PMID: 19210055.)
STRATEGY
This week, I invite you to be more intentional about walking away from a problem you’re trying to solve.
Whether it’s a proposed solution to an issue…
A creative presentation…
Or an innovative idea…
Let the conscious mind rest and commit to an activity that will give you the break you need for a breakthrough to arise.
Rooting for you,
Jay (inviting you to allow for breakthroughs to happen)
Global keynote speaker
Host of the “Unstuck” podcast
Someone who packs his favorite pair of slippers when traveling (they come with me everywhere I go)