Learn my secret to solving complex problems and working with challenging projects.

I have been working for 15 years in IT, for the last seven as a consultant in cloud computing and AI/ML area. At that time, I was dealing with many complex problems and challenges. One of them was an AI-based cloud system to classify metal scrap based on EU norms using pictures. Everyone then thought that it was impossible (even some research facilities). One of the biggest tech companies in the world came to me asking if I could do this — I said yes. Another example is one of my projects from the IoT and IoB sectors. Same story — complex system with many challenges that no one before solved. Then the next one, and the next one. At one point in time, people knew me as a person who made impossible projects possible ??

How was I able to do this? Here is my secret — I used a thinking methodology (framework) I learned many years ago, and you can also use it to deal with complex projects and challenges.

The methodology is called “The 5 ways of effective thinking” and was created by Edward B. Burger and Michael Starbird in 2012. I have been using it since 2013, and it is a game-changer. It speeds up my professional career and allows me to be one of the best tech consultants in cloud computing and the AI/ML area, launch a couple of businesses, and optimize my health and well-being.

Ok, how it works? There are five simple rules that you need to embrace and master in your thinking process ??

Rule 1: Understand deeply

In my opinion, this is the most important rule that you need to master. Every complex problem and project is problematic because of its complexity. To deal with it, you need to separate it into smaller atomic parts and try to understand it deeply. How to do this? First, define every small mechanism and step you need to do to deal with the problem. Then try to understand them, how they work, and why they are necessary. To do this, I always use a simple method — the teaching approach. I must always explain it to a ten-year-old child and teach him this subject. If I can do it easily, I fully understand the topic, and then I can move to the next one.

Rule 2: Let Your Errors Be Your Guide

When working on something new, you will always make mistakes and fail at the beginning. It is a natural process of our learning mechanisms. We learn the most when we fall and start asking why this is not working. What has gone wrong? What and where can we improve? Then we need to try again, fail again, and improve until we master this subject. We need to check our assumptions and have a quick feedback loop. Only then will we know if we are going in the right direction. To do this, we need to accept failures as a part of the journey. We need to embrace them and even plan them at the beginning. Our failures do not define us. They are our guide and a tool to improve.

Rule 3: Start to ask questions

To find the correct answers, you must learn to ask questions. It is an essential skill. When speaking with your customers or colleagues, you must ask questions and use this skill to understand their thoughts and requirements deeply. Remember, there are no stupid questions — there are only unspoken ones. The second important skill is the question “why?”. It would be best if you used it often, so it will help you to understand the specific mechanisms and concepts. Also, it will help you find out why something is not working as you imagine and how to prevent future failures. Start asking the right questions, and you will find many good answers.

Rule 4: Follow the flow of ideas

When you are working on a complex project, whatever it is: it could be a complicated IT project, the business model for your new company, a new book, or anything else, your first idea will not be the end solution. There is a big chance that it will be wrong, but this is ok. You have to start moving to reach some point, and here is the same. Your first idea should be an input to your second idea and then another. You need to create a flow of ideas. Every one of them will be better than the previous one, and at some point, you will find the one that will fit the best to your project.

Rule 5: Accept the change

Change is an inevitable part of our lives. You need to be open and adapt to it. When dealing with something new, you must be able to learn new things and change your thinking and approach to the subject. You need to be a lifelong learner, always eager to try new things and find new solutions.

Those five rules helped me with many different aspects of my life. I used them in my IT career, to launch a couple of my businesses, to optimize my health and well-being, and many more… When I applied and mastered them, my life and how I view this world changed for the better.

I recommend that you give them a try and see how your life and career change for the better ??

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