The way versus a way

It used to drive me crazy to get a suggestion to solve a problem once it has been decided how to solve it.

That’s because what I often hear was someone telling me how they would do it. That their way must mean it is the correct way. But there are a lot of methods to skin a cat. There’s simply a path or a choice. Sure there are choices that are more efficient. Others are shortcuts that pollute the environment or hurt people around you. There are choices that think about the bottom line and others that lead to change. And others that are simply sufficient to get things done. “This is how I have done it for years.”

Perhaps spending your time fitting a square peg into a round hole is a worthwhile endeavor if you are on the edge of solving interesting problems. Innovation only comes when we notice things that someone else doesn’t. After all, Joseph Priestly didn’t invent oxygen, he discovered it.

There is no right answer. There are many solutions to problems.